All of Motoki's clients are eternally grateful.

If it hadn’t won the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Yojiro Takita’s Departures would merely be another manipulative, predictable drama desperate to pound viewers over the head with convenient life lessons. But once it was announced as the owner of a golden statuette, it became the latest indictment on how hit-or-miss Academy voters can be.

The film centers on Daigo (Masahiro Motoki), a young concert cellist of dubious proficiency who must find an alternative career when his orchestra goes bankrupt. One answered advertisement later, he has become a seriously unsteady funeral services employee, preparing dead bodies for their final reward. Dressing corpses is upsetting for Daigo and no less a source of consternation for his adoring wife (Ryoko Hirosue). Teaching him the trade is a philosophical father figure (Tsutomu Yamakazi). Along the way we learn about life, death, love, plot contrivances and how the screenplay for what’s essentially a gentle, well-intentioned movie can wear out the most patient filmgoer. Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is that it’s still possible put one over on Academy voters.