The Funeral (1984)

I'm going to be honest. This move is really close to my heart so my review after seeing it umpteen times in over 30 years is probably a little skewed. Firstly, if you don't like dry and dark comedy, don't bother with The Funeral. You will not like it. If you are, shall I say, not prone to bawdiness or a little prissy, don't bother with The Funeral. HOWEVER. if you don't mind funeral jokes, seeing people insanely running through woods, and pretty much losing it over the death of the patriarch in their family, do bother with The Funeral.

Thirty years ago there weren't many movies like this. Because of this move I became a big fan of what I call the Funeral Comedy. I won't go to a funeral, but I'll watch a comedy about one anytime. Sad, but true. I had never seen anything quite like the Funeral, not in the US and certainly not coming out of Japan. The writer/director, Juzou Itami, was a genius that died before his time, but you can see his influence in other directors like Miike Takeshi. For Japanese film of the time there was nothing comparable in it's production (from writing to editing).

The story seems basic enough. An old man dies. His family gathers for a few days to make funeral preparations. Seems simple. Not really. That's when everything goes sideways. Bad for them. Good for the viewer. Some families just shouldn't get together no matter what the circumstance. The acting is great. Itami had a stable of actors, much like Woody Allen, who popped up in most if not all of his movies. Two of those actors, Tsutomu Yamazaki and Nobuko Miyamoto (Juzou's widow), give splendid performances. The entire cast is very good.

Admittedly, when I watch this now, I immediately think it's too slow. Eventually this gives way to what is a damn good movie.

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