The Funeral

The Funeral (お葬式, 1984) is a Japanese comedy-drama you can watch online on iFILM — the debut feature of director Juzo Itami, starring Nobuko Miyamoto and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Chizuko's father dies without warning. The family discovers it has no idea how to conduct a proper Buddhist funeral and spends three days figuring it out.

Itami's angle is precise and affectionate: Japanese families of the 1980s officially maintain traditional rituals while having quietly forgotten what any of it means. No one here is a fool or a villain — they're people trying to follow a script no one taught them. Miyamoto, who was Itami's wife and lead actress across most of his films, keeps the tone from tipping into farce; her character's quiet composure under mounting pressure holds the whole thing together. Itami followed this with Tampopo the next year, same team, same gift for everyday ceremony turned slightly sideways. Stream The Funeral (1984) online on iFILM.