The Funeral (1984)

I enjoyed this. It was even more subdued than I expected, but it’s relative lack of ridiculousness makes it somehow seem the most comically accomplished of Itami’s movies. My favorite gag was the driving-in-the-rain scene. I liked all the aisatsu gags as well.

There’s an old monk in the movie and there was one point where I thought he sounded exactly like Chishu Ryu. I thought, “Is that Chishu Ryu?” After a moment, I decided “No way!” But looking at the credits, it turns out it is Chishu Ryu. I was so wrong!