“The Departure”, a documentary with Buddhist themes

Sunday, March 11, 2018In this incredibly intimate 2017 documentary from Lana Wilson we are introduced to Ittetsu Nemoto, a former punk-turned-Buddhist-priest in Japan, who has made a career out of helping suicidal people find reasons to live. But this work has come increasingly at the cost of his own family and health, as he refuses to draw lines between his patients and himself. THE DEPARTURE captures Nemoto at a crossroads, when his growing self-destructive tendencies lead him to confront the same question his patients ask him: what makes life worth living? In Japanese w/ subtitles. NR / 87 min. “A genuinely spiritual experience. A quietly galvanizing portrait of life, death and the thin places in between. A film that explores life’s toughest and most transcendent moments with tenderness, honesty and care.” – Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post “Wilson’s film, a quiet wonder, emphasizes the courage it takes to choose the hard work of living.” – Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice