The Academy Award's effect is great. The box profit of the Foreign Language Film winner Okuribito (おくりびと), Departure became more than yen 3,800,000,000. Last weekend (Feb. 28 and March 1) about 300,000 people went to see the movie, and the boxoffice take was about yen 320,000,000. Therefore it became No. 1 for the weekly ranking. The first time since its release last September. It's been more than 5 months. There are fewer theaters which still show that movie. Some theaters wisely decided to show it again or extend its showing period.
I went to see Okuribito today. When I arrived to the theater, about 15 minutes earlier than the show time, tickets had been already sold out for that time frame. I had to wait for the next showing. While waiting, I watched another movie, Seven Pounds. Japanese title is Nanatsu no okurimono(７つの贈り物), which literally means Seven Presents. For me the Japanese title is easier to understand than the English one. I am still not sure what Seven Pounds really means. "Pound of flesh" for seven people??
Okuri bito literally means people who send. Therefore people sending off the deceased remain. English title is Departure. Departure sounds like the start for the deceased.
Both were good movies. I have been thinking of the nuance of Japanese and English and difficulties of translation.
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