Many movies strive to address what human beings owe to one another by way of compassion and commitment in fact " The Square," opening Friday, addresses those very themes. Most astutely, Wilson combines that stylistic approach with a disarmingly frank appraisal of her subject's flaws, making Nemoto a sympathetic, poignant figure, rather than an unapproachable paragon. Exquisitely filmed by Emily Topper, "The Departure" possesses a restrained, lyrical tone in keeping with the contemplative material at its core. Wilson, best known for co-directing the 2013 documentary "After Tiller," about late-term abortion, brings the same sense of discretion and respect to this project, which never feels lurid or voyeuristic, even when Nemoto is coping with dramatic life-or-death choices. (Credit: Candescent Films/Drifting Cloud Productions) ) “The Departure” is a documentary portrait of Ittetsu Nemoto, right, seen here with a participant in one of his counseling retreats. But what at first seems designed to be a portrait of selfless altruism soon deepens, as it becomes clear that Nemoto has his own demons to confront, including the physical toll his work is taking on his body, psyche, and relationship with his wife and young son. Nemoto’s approach is quiet and deeply empathic, which Wilson observes with supreme sensitivity. A Buddhist monk, he leads groups in exercises meant to approximate how death would feel, whether it’s trashing their most cherished connections and aspirations, or simply lying down with cloths over their faces, to suggest sensory deprivation and nothingness.
The documentary’s protagonist, Ittetsu Nemoto, is a former punk-rocker who now counsels people contemplating suicide. But that’s precisely what’s on offer with “The Departure,” Lana Wilson’s quietly galvanizing portrait of life, death and the thin places in between in modern-day Japan. It’s not often one can have a genuinely spiritual experience watching a movie.
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