 Internationally , Departures has received mixed — mostly positive — reviews . Ebert gave the film a perfect four stars , describing it as " rock @-@ solid in its fundamentals " and highlighting its cinematography , music , and the casting of Yamazaki as Sasaki . He found that the end result " functions flawlessly " and is " excellent at achieving the universal ends of narrative " . Derek Armstrong of AllMovie gave the film four stars out of five , describing it as " a film of lyrical beauty " which is " bursting with tiny pleasures " . In a four @-@ star review , Byrnes described the film as a " moving meditation on the transience of life " which showed " great humanity " , concluding " it 's a beautiful film but take two <unk> . " Howell gave the film three stars out of four , praising its acting and cinematography . He wrote that Departures " quietly subverts aesthetic and emotional expectations " without ever losing its " high @-@ minded intent " . In a three @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half star review , Claudia Puig of USA Today described Departures as a " beautifully composed " film which , although predictable , was " emotional , poignant " and " profoundly affecting " . 
