Film review: Hospitalité / Kantai [歓待]

Posted on | February 1, 2011 | 6 Comments

Japanese title: 歓待
Year: 2010
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Director: Koji Fukada
Production: Kiki Sugino,Koji Fukada, WA Entertainment and Seinendan
Cast: Kenji Yamauchi, Kiki Sugino, Kanji Furutachi, Bryerly Long, Kumi Hyôdô, Eriko Ono et al.
Official website: http://www.kantai-hospitalite.com
Source: International Film Festival Rotterdam 2011
Verdict: ★★★★★

Synopsis
When Mikio Kobayashi (Kenji Yamauchi), owner of a tiny print shop in a quiet corner of Tokyo, one day sends out his daughter Eriko (Eriko Ono) and his newly-divorced sister Seiko (Kumi Hyodo) to put up posters for Eriko’s lost bird Pea-chan, he never expected anything else to come of it. Instead of the bird itself, a man who claims to be the son of one of the print shop’s original financiers shows up at his door… and doesn’t leave. When it comes down to it, it’s all about hospitality and how far this concept really stretches. As the story unfolds, Kobayashi-san and his young wife Natsuki (Kiki Sugino) are faced with ever more absurd and awkward situations. But can they turn away all these uninvited guests?

Review
S. and me were fortunate enough to attend a screening at which not only director Koji Fukada, but also main actors Kiki Sugino and Kenji Yamauchi were present. After the viewing, they remained available for a very enlightening and fun Q&A session.
There are two ways to watch this movie: on the one hand, you can simply sit back and enjoy it as a comedy. On the other hand, you may detect a more serious layer, one that addresses the very contemporary issue of (fear of) foreigners and other outsiders. Fukada couldn’t have chosen a better location to shoot his film; the sheltered Sumida-ward of Tokyo is notable for its neighborhood watch, and the homeless people that were evicted from the site.
At the beginning of the film, the little family doesn’t seem to be very affectionate nor close, although there is a general sense of amiability. It is not until Kagawa-san (Kanji Furutachi), the uninvited guest, arrives, that hidden secrets and suppressed emotions come to light. At first, there seems little harm in having him as a live-in employee, but soon his blonde wife Anabelle (Bryerly Long) moves in, and plans for further mischief are set in motion. Both Kobayashi and his wife are reluctant to accept the new situation, but time after time Kagawa manages to convince them, be it by blackmail or sheer indifference. There were so many awkward moments in Hospitalité, I often found myself flinching along when Kagawa introduced yet another new lodger to the Kobayashi household.
But what was the true purpose of Kagawa and Anabelle? I kept wondering about this while the movie played. Were they plotting to oust Kobayashi and take over the print shop? Did they simply need new headquarters for their human trafficking activities? Are they just a fun-loving, albeit slightly odd, couple? Or perhaps there was another, more far-fetched, reason for their crazy behavior; to shake up the household that was stuck in a rut? Whatever may have been Fukada’s intention, in the end viewers will have to decide for themselves.

I would like to conclude with a few comments that the director (in the center, picture above) made after the viewing. As already mentioned above, the purpose of the movie was to emphasize the problem of increasing numbers of foreigners (tourists and immigrants alike) and vagrants in present-day Japan. His view is a very pragmatic one: times have changed, and as it is not possible to return to a more secluded society (which perhaps people with a so-called “island mentality” would prefer), we all have to make the best of it. And what better way to start than to introduce ourselves to one another, and to become acquainted? In Hospitalité, this notion is expressed in an exaggerated manner, by inviting more and more people in until the house can hardly fit them anymore.
On a lighter note, S. asked Fukada, “why was Kobayashi-san paired up with a much younger wife?” Much laughter ensued. Apparently a back-story was written, but he decided that it would actually make the movie too complicated, so it was left out.

Finally, I wish I could show you more appropriate movie stills, but at the time of writing this, they aren’t available yet. So, dear reader, you will have to make do with the official images, released by the production companies… which don’t do the film justice at all. If you could only see the cramped, but cozy little space in which the family spend their days, among seemingly old-fashioned printing machines (that actually work. According to the director, the film was shot in a real print shop), or see how ill-at-ease the protagonists feel at times. You’ll just have to go and see the film for yourself!

Photo taken by me, copyrighted to www.chinoiseries.net. Film stills are copyrighted to WA Entertainment and Seinendan

Comments