When Pretend Seem Real
Finally, I was able to watch this movie. I was intrigued by the title itself and with Brendan in a Japanese environment.
A person for rent to act in any way needed by the family is quite an unusual job. I think this stems out from services of having personal hosts for a day, a girl Friday or a Geisha to entertain.
I find the concept of Rental Family quite odd. And as Philip said at the interview, he felt this is lying. and it is! If it is a one-time deal, perhaps he can get away with it. As Shinji said, they are meeting emotional needs of a family. But how far would you go to meet that need?
The movie is almost two hours, but we see different sides of the Rental Family odd jobs. All pretend, but to the families around who needed emotional healing, they seem real. And there is the danger of getting too invested and personal. In a society that is so fast-paced, emotional connection sometimes gets left. This movie tells us that all of us needed someone to somehow be a friend, a brother, a sister, a dad or mom. It shows how much society had focused on physical achievements rather than human relations. To Philip, some of those pretends, were related to his own experiences. At some point, I was teary when Kiko San was in his hometown.
Somehow there is a redeeming factor in the movie. A wake-up call for Shinji to revise his services. Philip gets to be himself before Mia. For Philip to be there for Kiko San till his death, something that filled the void of his own loss in the past. Aiko to stand up to Shinji and quit. The Rental Family supporting Philip to get out of trouble. I am glad the movie ended in a good note.
A person for rent to act in any way needed by the family is quite an unusual job. I think this stems out from services of having personal hosts for a day, a girl Friday or a Geisha to entertain.
I find the concept of Rental Family quite odd. And as Philip said at the interview, he felt this is lying. and it is! If it is a one-time deal, perhaps he can get away with it. As Shinji said, they are meeting emotional needs of a family. But how far would you go to meet that need?
The movie is almost two hours, but we see different sides of the Rental Family odd jobs. All pretend, but to the families around who needed emotional healing, they seem real. And there is the danger of getting too invested and personal. In a society that is so fast-paced, emotional connection sometimes gets left. This movie tells us that all of us needed someone to somehow be a friend, a brother, a sister, a dad or mom. It shows how much society had focused on physical achievements rather than human relations. To Philip, some of those pretends, were related to his own experiences. At some point, I was teary when Kiko San was in his hometown.
Somehow there is a redeeming factor in the movie. A wake-up call for Shinji to revise his services. Philip gets to be himself before Mia. For Philip to be there for Kiko San till his death, something that filled the void of his own loss in the past. Aiko to stand up to Shinji and quit. The Rental Family supporting Philip to get out of trouble. I am glad the movie ended in a good note.
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