Remembering Juzo Itami's "The Funeral"

A Brilliant Director's Debut Film, And His Masterpiece

Tsutomu Yamazaki and Nobuko Miyamoto in “The Funeral”

Nearly three months separated my father’s death in June and his memorial service last week, and all during the strange, discombobulated time between I thought about Juzo Itami’s “The Funeral” (Ososhiki), which I first saw upon its U.S. release in 1987. The last time I watched it was probably thirty ye…