Rental Family (#736)


I went to a movie on Thanksgiving with my two daughters and my grandson from Los Angeles who happens to be a documentary filmmaker. The film we saw was his choice and he picked a winner.  Finally saw a movie that was clever, very well done and acted and was made for adults who think. And it was filmed in Tokyo and was primarily in Japanese. Despite my worsening inability to read subtitles, I was able to understand what was going on easily. Brendan Frazier stars as an actor living kind of aimlessly in Japan and fluent in the language who is hired by a rental agency, a business which I assume is indigenous to Japan. He is retired to take on roles to react with strangers in various situation, attempting to aid them in some way. He has a difficult time adjusting to these roles, but eventually begins to care too much for his clients and their needs. This is an intelligent film with poignancy and humor and Frazier is perfect in the role. I truly enjoyed this film far more than I expected because we are able to watch the character grow as a caring human being. If I were in charge, Frazier would be my first nominee for an Academy Award.  He's that good and so is the entire film. 87% of critics and 96% of audiences joined me in a rousing thumbs up.  


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