Ittetsu Nemoto in The Departure
The Departure is a newly-released documentary that focuses on Ittetsu Nemoto, a former punk-turned-Buddhist-priest in Japan. He 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 those he counsels 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? The second documentary by award-winning director Lana Wilson (After Tiller), The Departure is a poetic and deeply moving film that contemplates death as a way of better understanding how we should live.
The documentary is showing at the Guild Cinema this Tuesday Nov. 7 through Thursday Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. The Guild Cinema is located at 3405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM. Phone number: 505-255-1848.
Just prior to the Thursday evening showing, Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin, an Albuquerque death educator who uses films to help start end-of-life conversations, will speak briefly to the audience about local opportunities to participate in Death Cafe discussions and other end-of-life education venues.
The film has been nominated in the best documentary category for the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, the Moscow International Film Festival, and the Adelaide Film Festival. Praise for the film follows this trailer video. Catch it in Albuquerque while you can!
“Immensely moving. Lyrical and deeply meditative…digs deep into major questions without being afraid of the answers.” – IndieWire
“…as much about embracing life as it is about facing death.” – Tricycle Magazine
“One of the major discoveries of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, Lana Wilson’s The Departure is a beautiful, wise, and deeply empathetic immersion into one fascinating character’s unique approach to suicide prevention. A quietly impressive work whose images, characters, and ruminations linger on long after the lights come up.” – Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine
“Stunning. The movie probes this man’s fascinating life with a graceful ennui.” – Brandon Harris, Filmmaker Magazine
“An intimate, deeply felt engagement with profound matters of life and death.” – Allan Hunter, Screen International
“A portrait of unbelievable humanity.” – Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com
“A poetic meditation on what it means to be human and what it means to be alive.” – Helen Kaplow, Indie NYC
“A lyrical statement on the meaning of life…The Departure is a moving, philosophical exercise on understanding and cherishing life by confronting the finiteness of it.” – Tomris Laffly, Film School Rejects
“A cinematic spiritual quest. A trip to the mountain top that will leave you moved, teary eyed, and utterly vibrating with the sense of feeling alive. A small quiet film that is thunderous in its effect.” – Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
“Highly empathetic. A tale of an iconoclast that is unexpectedly profound.” – Phil Guie, Film-Forward
“a deeply moving and intimate movie.” – Reel News Daily
“One of the most moving films at this year’s festival…gorgeous and contemplative. The Departure is a powerful work of documentary, cinema, advocacy, and art.” – Toronto Film Scene