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Rental Family (English/Japanese; 2025)
Written and Directed by: Hikari
The genetic bonds that unite people are quite different from other connections that bind people together. We may confidently assert that we may be connected to the hip with someone based on likes and dislikes, social background, religious beliefs, or even Alma mater or place of origin; when the push comes to shove, the binding bonds of DNA sequence invariably prevail.
Increasingly, these bonds are being monetised. Mates, boyfriends, girlfriends, mock spouses and playmates can be found at a reasonable price. These are purely transactional and do not stand the test of time, or do they really? With the string of relationships and the vow of marriage becoming as impermanent as scribblings on a sandy beach. We merchandise relationships, put a price on intimacy, offering more on OnlyFans and scoot off from a broken union with a fat lump sum.
These days, not only are relationships mirages, but even everyday people are only a fragment of who they claim to be. Against this background, Phillip starts looking for a job in Japan. He is a small-time actor who is now struggling to find his next gig. A company named 'Rental Family' offers him a peculiar job. He is to act as a child's estranged American father to a Japanese girl so she can gain entry into a private school. Phillip agrees.
He has to show up as a soon-to-be husband to a Japanese lady's parents. This lady is actually a closeted lesbian who is secretly married to her wife and plans to migrate to Canada. The arrangement worked well. Everyone is happy.
Another assignment is to masquerade as a journalist to interview a demented man. His caregiver, his daughter, is hoping that it will jog his memory of his past.
Phillip soon realises that these transactions are not mere transactions but carry heavy baggage. The affairs of the heart are not so cut-and-dried.
Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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