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The first feature from Juzo Itami (TAMPOPO, A TAXING WOMAN), this is a black comedy that pokes fun at solemn traditional Japanese funeral rites. When a patriarch dies suddenly, his family--including his actress daughter (Nobuko Miyamato), her actor husband (Tsutomu Yamazaki), and their manager (Ichiro Zaitsu)--comes together for the three-day Buddhist ceremony for the former brothel owner. Many of the scenes that ensue will be familiar to viewers of similarly structured films but the Japanese setting is revelatory to Western eyes. While THE FUNERAL is not as loopy as TAMPOPO, a wildly appetizing comedy about food, it is still very energetic and inventive.