The Departure
A punk rocker-turned-Zen priest helps desperate people re-discover the will to live through counseling. But when he faces a crisis of his own, can he live by the same advice he gives out?
Ittetsu Nemoto is not your typical Buddhist priest. A former punk rocker who loves riding his motorcycle and dancing all night in clubs, he became famous in Japan for his extraordinary success in inspiring suicidal men and women to keep on living. His unorthodox approach to suicide prevention includes one-on-one counseling sessions as well as meditation, camping trips, and wild collaborative art projects. But Nemoto also struggles with demons of his own. He does not sleep, his phone is rarely silent, and his temple is never empty. His days and nights consist of endless counseling sessions and retreats. He has hundreds of “patients” but is only a one-man practice. According to his doctor, if Nemoto doesn’t make significant lifestyle changes soon, he'll have very little time left to live.
The priest finds himself at a crossroads, because he wants to be there for his own family — including his baby son — but also feels like he can’t say no to the desperate people who come to him for help. The Departure is a lyrical, complex, and moving portrait of an imperfect individual dealing with a profound contemporary issue that ultimately affects us all.