The last two films I have seen have one thing in common. They both focus on rituals surrounding death. Both by concentrating on death bring life into sharp focus. The first, “Sunshine Cleaning” concerns a business which cleans up after messy deaths. The second, “Departures” involves the work of a Japanese ritual funeral contractor. Just as sex was for many years a taboo subject in cinema so death (and I don’t mean killing) has, until recently, been the same. Not so any more. The genre is just beginning.
Sunshine Cleaning and then Departures
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