Movie Number 49 of 2025
The Movie: Rental Family
The Cinema: The Rivoli Camberwell
Runtime: One hour fifty minutes
Languages: English and Japanese (with English subtitles)
Stars: 5
Two things drew me to this movie. First of all, it's set in Japan - a country that intrigues me. I want to go. I can't wait to go. It looks incredible - and mental and moving. Some brilliant films have recently come out of Japan too - I'm thinking Perfect Days and Touch. And of course, Lost in Translation is one of my favourite films. The second thing - it has Brendan Fraser in it.
Jay and I discussed this. She reckons Fraser has become a good actor. I think he's always been great. After seeing him in the 90s in London in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, he won me over completely. Sure, he made some popular, but dodgy calls early on, but if you've seen The Whale, Gods and Monsters and Crash, you know the man can really act. He's fantastic in this quiet Japanese film about life and connection.
Philip (Fraser) is an American actor living in Japan. He's regularly cast as the token white guy in advertisements and low budget productions. The work appears to be drying up. Phillip has been in Japan for seven years and has no intention of moving away. He's fluent in Japanese. He's got a lot of the culture down, but some things still surprise him. He books a job as a 'Sad American' where he's paid to attend a funeral. It's after this funeral that he is approached by Shinji (Takehiro Hira) who invites him to come to work with him and his team who supply "rental family" members. They need a token white guy. He fits the bill.
Shinji's agency hires out actors to fill people's specific needs. Need a bridegroom to hide your gay partner from your family? Want a journalist to fake interview your famous, ailing father? Need a father for your daughter when trying to get them into an exclusive school? Shinji's agency can provide this, and after a few reservations, Phillip grows in the roles - being the stand-in father for the pernickety Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman), a journalist interviewing an ailing Keiko (Hideko Hara) and a friend to play video games in. What first starts as a paid job becomes more complicated as both parties begin to become attached to each other. Over the film, Phillip finds his flagging purpose, and the beauty of human connection.
Not only is this a gorgeous tale of life in the city, looking at a culture we are unfamiliar with, it shows a very different part of Japan. This is visually stunning, taking in the Tokyo suburbs with the Japanese countryside. It's gorgeous to watch.
It's also very funny, as well as very touching. Hikari's direction and screenplay are touching, wise and humorous.
I came for Brendan Fraser and come out completely satisfied.
This is a wonderful film. It comes very highly recommended.
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