Family rental both begin and end with a funeral, and the middle tells the story of one of them. One is real, the other is fake. And it shows why the biggest moments are actually a mixture of both.
This quirky and backwards truism is a useful way to get into this film – a rare example of a film that actually introduces a new, unique and instantly recognizable voice, at least one that isn't Wes Anderson. But writer-director Hikari's new film is just that: a frenetic, contemplative and beautifully twisted mess of a narrative that, supported by Alex Somers and Jónsi's superb score, seems to capsize on itself to create a story that seemingly demands to be told.
If this sounds like an insult, it is not at all. The Brendan Fraser-led drama really demands to be told: the film, based on the real-life Japanese family-for-hire industry (actors secretly play real people in real situations), contains so many grueling, hilarious and harrowing moments that it's downright dizzying.
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From the story of a little girl and her unexpectedly absent father, to a celebrity suffering from dementia and a bumbling journalist unearthing his past, to a failed actor with cardboard cutouts from a Clear Bright toothpaste ad cluttering his apartment, Family rental filled to the brim with precious little parables, like trinkets on a shelf in your warm, loving, eccentric grandmother's house. It's all brought together by a director's warm, loving and eclectic vision that you'll likely be hearing more about in the future.
And who better to lead that vision by centering all of these stories than Frazier. This former action star “Brennessance” may have started with Whale (earned Canada its first-ever Best Actor Oscar), but undoubtedly cemented his place here with his stunningly heartfelt performance as Philippe.
An unemployed actor whose commercial career has stalled, he remains firmly in the public eye. Philip is a clumsy seven-year-old boy. gaijin: a foreigner living in Japan, firmly outside a culture that will seemingly forever remain alien to him. It is alien when he stumbles over Japanese formalisms, alien when he sits alone in his apartment and invisibly raises toasts to newlyweds and old people in the apartments across the street.
But it's the most alien thing as he tries to do the hardest thing of all: make a life among people he can't hope to connect with or understand.
But Phillip is presented with a unique opportunity, at least one that hasn't yet premiered on the East Coast of the Pacific: a business born out of Japan's reluctance to actually address mental health issues. Instead of offering husbands and wives couples therapy or embracing chronically underappreciated fathers, there is a simpler solution. Just have a fake funeral, put this underappreciated man in a coffin, and hire a “sad American” to bow sadly while the man looks on in wonderful bliss.
“I finally feel like I deserve to exist,” this man beams after all is said and done. And Philip, a sad American who suddenly has money in his pocket and a new role on his resume, is hooked.
More assignments follow: stage a marriage to help a young woman please her parents before running away with the true love of her life; pulling out the real version of Cartoon Network Smiling friends concert to get out of the house and socialize again. And perhaps most importantly in the story, he poses as the long-lost father of a little girl, giving her the courage to take the entrance exam for the exclusive school she is lucky enough to attend, all the way up to university.
But what's more important for Phillip is to give the entry board all the right answers to convince them it's a good fit.
Maybe it gets complicated Family rentalThe most pedestrian mistake. Of course, Philip is obliged to keep the story of his trick a secret from the girl. And if Mulan has taught us anything, lying about who you really are to those who come to depend on you is a tried and tested Disney Channel recipe for a potential crisis of character.
And it's true Family rental does little to subvert expectations there. Don't deny your true self, boys and girls, this is a lesson; you all deserve to exist simply because you already exist. But the originality here isn't some grand new discovery, or even trying to do so. As Fraser himself told the Toronto crowd at Saturday's world premiere (after a lengthy standing ovation): Family rental exists for a different reason.
“This film is unique and needs to be seen on screen,” he said. “And correct me if I'm wrong, I think we need to see this movie now more than ever.”
This is achieved through the tender treatment of Hikari, whose premiere film 37 seconds played at TIFF in 2019. The absurdities of both Japanese and American culture are also explored in equal detail. Although Philip's initial reluctance to lie to save face is initially ignored as gaijin ignorance, by the end he is far from the only lost soul. Family rental does not belittle or fetishize cultural differences, because everyone plays a role. And everyone will screw it up.
Outside of the film itself, it really does feel like a changing of the guard. After ParasiteIn the wake of 2020's stunning Best Picture Oscar win, the growing tide of non-Hollywood and non-American fare appears to have reached its zenith.
From Ne Zha The box office of the film “2” amounted to $2.2 billion To K-pop demon hunters almost dominating all aspects of pop culturenow even TIFF, the “people's festival,” is changing with the times. Here on the ground, you are most likely to hear about South Korea. There's no other choiceNorway Sentimental value or France Arco than films below the 49th parallel.
Family rental no different. Without spoiling why and how these second and third funerals happen – or how the final reveal ties all the various messages together – suffice it to say that this film is a stunning achievement. More like disparate but interdependent parables than anything on the market today, it is also completely unique and completely refreshing in its scope.
In short, if TIFF is supposed to be an awards predictor, then a diamond is likely found here. Because if Family rental not a best picture contender, who knows what it is.
