Rental Family: Finding Your Place
That movie was so delightful. The description of the movie: starring Brendan Fraser as the main character Phillip is as follows:
“Struggling to find purpose, an American actor lands an unusual gig with a Japanese agency to play stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients' worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he soon rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.”
The Tokyo city landscapes are lovely but it also shows how isolating life can be in a big city. About how complicated Japanese culture can be for foreigners. And probably for the Japanese themselves. As Shinji, the company boss says: "You could live in this country for 100 years and there will still be things you won't understand."
The work is important. When he asks his colleague why they do this work, she responds:
"These people look at you like they've been waiting for you their whole lives." The job helps fill the emotional hole in their clients.
He makes friends and real relationships along the way. He feels meaning for the first time in 7 years living in Japan. It transforms his life for the better too. He even goes to some beautiful Japanese countryside and ocean landscapes. My god, these views were beautiful.
Some great quotes and insights that I took from the movie:
“Sometimes the story we tell ourselves becomes the truth.”
“Sometimes, it’s okay to pretend”
“Sometimes all we need is for someone to look us in the eye to let us know we exist.”
There is an emotional toll that the job takes: Building relationships and feelings and cutting them off. Yet there are lighthearted moments like when he has challenges with one of his clients kids:
“She hates me.” His boss replies: “that’s what being a parent is about.” It’s funny and so real as a parent of a teen right now.
There is also a scene where the child Mia asks: “Why do adults always lie?”
Phillip responds: “It’s because it’s a lot easier than telling the truth. Sometimes they lie to protect the people they care about…..” Very real.
There is also a discussion with Kikuo-san, one of the clients on religion. He says it’s about:
“Becoming more than yourself” and “God exists in all things, God exists inside us too.”
I really believe this is true.
Ultimately it is a movie about relationships, friendship and being human. Finding closure. Finding your voice. Finding yourself. Finding family. Finding your home & belonging. Sometimes in places you don’t expect. You will love it. And if you love Japan like I do, you will enjoy this movie even more. So go watch it!