Of all the rituals in our culture, nothing can surpass the grandeur, solemnity and power of the ceremonies associated with death. The departure of the poorest peasant and the head of state is clothed with elaborate rites and ceremonies.

No expense is spared to assure a proper “last trip” for the dear departed. This is true of funeral processions for heads of state.When a president dies, nothing can possibly match the huge crowds which accompany the funeral cortege. No one can stem the public outpouring of grief by rich and poor alike.

So it was in the case of the late Presidents Manuel A. Roxas and Ramon Magsaysay. Their deaths were sudden and unexpected—a massive heart attack for Roxas and a dramatic plane crash for Magsaysay.

So it was in President Cory’s final journey. People stormed heaven with their prayers throughout her illness and tens of thousands escorted her to her simple tomb.

Departures and The Road Home

Two of the most moving films I have ever watched touch on how Asians treat the subject of death. These films help explain Filipinos’ efforts to shower on our dead all the rituals, prayers, attention and respect possible.

Departures is a Japanese film about Daigo (Masahiro Motoki), a cello player who lost his job and ended up as an “encoffiner.” This is the process of preparing the dead before the body is placed in the coffin. Modern undertakers usually don’t do this in the presence of the family.

In the film, the viewer watches the ritual along with the grieving family. The process is done with such delicacy, respect and grace that one cannot help but be moved. One critic commented that it was like watching a tea ceremony. It is amazing how the cleansing ceremony and the changing of kimonos is performed with reverence in a quiet and serene atmosphere.

The film ends with Daigo coming to terms with himself, his wife, his father who abandoned him as a child, and his profession as an important and noble calling. The same critic notes, “the encoffiners’ real task is to bring dignity to death, respect to the deceased and solace to those who grieve, and it is not hard to be moved…”

The film, directed by Yojiro Takita won many international awards, not the least of which was the Oscar for best foreign picture in 2008.

The Road Home explains why the funeral procession is so important to us Asians. The film is about the desire of the widow of a school teacher in a remote Chinese village to bring her husband home, and on to his burial. This needs to be done so the soul of the dead will remember its way home.

Such a wish was a practical impossibility for the poor family and the impoverished village where the teacher taught generations of school children. They could not afford to pay the price of the porters’ services and round up mourners to accompany the cortege. Nonetheless, former students came to take turns carrying the casket. They came to accompany their teacher home.

One of the most powerful scenes was the long line of porters and mourners walking in the funeral procession during a violent snowstorm. The images are stark and deeply moving.

When I saw the thousands who braved rain, wind, fatigue and hunger to accompany Cory home, I remembered and understood. The impulse to escort our dear departed is deeply embedded in our culture.

The film is also an enthralling love story marking the international debut of the beauteous Zhang Ziyi. It is directed by the great Chinese director Zhang Yimou, The film won more than ten international awards, including two in the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival.

The Banquet

No, this is not about the gripping film inspired by the story of Hamlet and which also stars Zhang Ziyi.

This is all about the dinner of banquet proportions which the president and her entourage enjoyed in the exclusive and pricey New York restaurant, “Le Cirque”.

According to an American novelist, “Le Cirque is the kind of grand and expensive New York restaurant that only certain New Yorkers really understand. It is not about food, as great restaurants are, and its not about décor, as so many others are, nor is it about beautiful or chic people. It is a restaurant about power. Only the powerful go there, to test their power by the table they are given and to enjoy their power in the company of other people.”

The bill reportedly ran up to $20,000 or Ph 960,000. According to sources, the presidential party of consumed: 11 bottles of Krug champagne at $510 each, five ounces of caviar for $1,400, and main courses like Dover sole, black cod, halibut, saddle of lamb, prime rib steak, plus lobster salad, wild burgundy escargot , and soft shell crab tempura.

Paraphrasing Marie Antoinette, “Let the wretched of the Philippines who constitute one-half of the population watch and salivate!”