Makimoto, a Farewell Officer, is assigned to arrange funerals for those who pass away alone. In an effort to find the daughter of a recently deceased man, he begins visiting the man’s former friends and acquaintances—each with their own complicated pasts. As Makimoto follows the traces of the man’s life, his journey becomes more than a search; it becomes a path of connection and quiet transformation. His slightly troublesome yet innocent devotion to the deceased gradually brings people together—and changes him along the way.
Sadao Abe stars as So Makimoto, once again teaming up with director Nobuo Mizuta after their acclaimed collaborations on Maiko Haaaan!!! (2007) and The Apology King (2013). Hikari Mitsushima plays Toko Tsumori, a lonely woman Makimoto meets on his journey. Joining them is a stellar ensemble cast, including Jun Kunimura, Rie Miyazawa, Ryudo Uzaki, and Kohei Matsushita—each drawn into Makimoto’s well-meaning disruptions.
The story is inspired by Still Life (2015), directed by Uberto Pasolini, which won four awards at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. The screenplay, adapted by Kishida Kunio Drama Award-winning playwright Yutaka Kuramochi, reimagines the original’s socially resonant themes in a Japanese context, blending humor and heart. Under the direction of Nobuo Mizuta—known for We’re Millennials. Got a Problem? and The Demon of First Love—this tale of compassion and quiet miracles is brought to life as a moving and laugh-out-loud human drama.
Makimoto works at a small city hall as a Farewell Officer, tasked with arranging funerals for those who die unnoticed and without family. His deep respect for the wishes of the deceased often leads him to prioritize his own moral code over police procedures, drawing daily scoldings from Detective Kamishiro.
One day, Makimoto visits the apartment of an elderly man named Kaburagi, who died alone, and discovers a photograph of a young girl who appears to be his daughter. At the same time, a newly appointed department chief from the prefectural office, Onoguchi, announces that the Farewell Officer program will be shut down. With Kaburagi’s case becoming his “final assignment,” Makimoto sets out to locate the girl in the photo and bring as many people as possible to Kaburagi’s funeral.
Following only a few small clues, Makimoto begins to track down those who once knew Kaburagi: Hiramitsu, a factory colleague; Miharu, his former lover who now runs a bar by the fishing port; Yarita, a miner whose life Kaburagi once saved; a group of homeless companions he once lived with—and finally, the girl in the photo, his daughter Toko.
As Makimoto retraces Kaburagi’s life, he too begins to change, little by little. And at the end of Makimoto’s “final farewell,” an unexpected miracle quietly awaits.
