Independent Spirit Award Nominee for Best Documentary
"It’s not often one can have a genuinely spiritual experience watching a movie. But that’s precisely what’s on offer with The Departure, Lana Wilson’s 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
"Stunning."
Brandon Harris, Filmmaker Magazine
"Immensely moving. Lyrical and deeply meditative… digs deep into major questions without being afraid of the answers."
Kate Erbland, IndieWire
"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
"[Nemoto's] teaching is as much about embracing life as it is about facing death. He offers hope for all."
Joan Oliver Duncan, Tricycle Magazine
"Highly empathetic. A tale of an iconoclast that is unexpectedly profound."
Phil Guie, Film-Forward
"A work of art. A beautiful meditation on the value of life. By the way, this is a documentary. But after the first few seconds, you won’t even notice."
David Lewis, The San Francisco Chronicle
"Poetic...profound...devastating. Wilson handles the emotional subject matter with a subtle restraint that makes the film all the more moving. The Departure beautifully illustrates how meaningful life can be."
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
"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."
Andrew Parker, Toronto Film Scene
"There is something incredible about The Departure...it feels like the darkest, riskiest act of perseverance, a movie that sets you in constant darkness and forces you to gather why you, dear reader, have chosen life."
Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com
"An eloquent portrait."
Juliet Helmke, Art Info
"Emotional… filled me with empathy. Unlike many other documentaries, there are no talking heads. There are no interviews. This is a fly-on-the-wall account following a man who helps so many others but is not taking care of himself. Deeply moving."
Melissa Hanson, Reel News Daily
"Tender and quietly moving... The Departure is like a haiku."
Ken Jaworowski, The New York Times
"Wilson's film, a quiet wonder, emphasizes the courage it takes to choose the hard work of living."
Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice
"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
"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
"[An] intimate and casually beautiful character study of Buddhist priest Ittetsu Nemoto... There’s something tremendously profound about his mission and how he approaches it, and Wilson’s sensitive approach honors it, following his example of listening, sympathizing, and respecting the complexity of human emotions. Would that we were all so kind, as filmmakers and as people."
Jason Bailey, Flavorwire
"A poetic meditation on what it means to be human and what it means to be alive."
Helen Kaplow, Indie NYC
SYNOPSIS
Ittetsu Nemoto, a former punk-turned-Buddhist-priest in Japan, 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. Nemoto is at a crossroads, as his growing self-destructive tendencies lead him to confront the same question his patients ask him: what makes life worth living? The Departure is a poetic and deeply moving film that contemplates death as a way of better understanding how we should live.
DIRECTED BY
Lana Wilson
PRODUCED BY
Lana Wilson
Drifting Cloud Productions
