Kantai

This would have been a fine move except for the fact that I watched it on Kanopy. Kanopy has major bandwidth issues. Mine stops and stutters all the time. Tubi works fine, all the time, BTW. If they aren't careful, libraries are going start dropping the service. It took 45 minutes to get through the last nine minutes of the movie the bandwidth was so bad. That's how engaging the movie was but Kanopy ruined this movie for me. Too short? Looks fine to me. How's that?

This would have been a fine move except for the fact that I watched it on Kanopy. Kanopy has major bandwidth issues. Mine stops and stutters all the time. Tubi works fine, all the time, BTW. If they aren't careful, libraries are going start dropping the service. It took 45 minutes to get through the last nine minutes of the movie the bandwidth was so bad. That's how engaging the movie was but Kanopy ruined this movie for me. Too short? Looks fine to me. How's that?

Mikio runs a small printing company in working-class Tokyo, taking care of the machines while his young, beautiful wife manages the books and the education of her stepdaughter Eriko, from Mikio's previous marriage. Mikio's sister lives with them, retreating from her own broken marriage. Their earnest if humdrum lives see little drama, except the escape of their parakeet Pea, and the gossipy interference of the Neighbourhood Watch. But drama is on its way in the form of Kagawa, an Iago-esque charmer who forces his way into their lives bringing irrevocable consequences.

Writer/ director Koji Fukuda presents an ostensibly absurdist comedy that also functions as a sly take on Japanese paranoia and persistent reluctance to engage with the outside world. The story sets up the usual bogeymen of the Japanese media – homeless itinerants, illegal immigrants – while suggesting that the truly awful machinations come from domestic sources. That said, the polemic is lightly dotted through; it is the comedy and family intrigue that dominate here. From Ozu's "Tokyo Monogatari", through to Kawase's "Moe no Suzaku' and the recent "Still Walking" from Koreda, the ties that bind and infuriate have proved fertile ground for Japanese cinema. Fukuda's "Hospitalite" is both a welcome addition to the canon and a fresh take on the genre. The tight script and brisk pacing have a lot to do with that success, but the performances from the principals here are exceptional and really take the film to a new height. Keji Yamaguchi as weak-willed Mikio is a delight, while Kanji Furutachi plays Kagawa with a level of menace that is Shakespearean. The scenes with the two together, especially when Kagawa is twisting the knife on Mikio, are priceless, be they comedic or racking up the tension. Minor players hold their own: Kumi Hyodo is impressive as the self-deceiving sister Seiko, showing that acting is re-acting with some hilarious expressions. Hiroko Matsuda completely embodies the neighbourhood busybody. Kiki Sugino as Natsuki, the narrative's emotional core, keeps it straight, the perfect foil to the mayhem that is being unleashed around her. We share Natsuki's rising incredulity to unfolding events – only to realize that she, too, is complicit…

The film was shot low-budget HD but technically stands up. There are really only four locations – inside downstairs, inside upstairs, the street and the riverside – and Fukuda uses the claustrophobia aesthetically, building and releasing the tension as the tempo demands.

By the end, everything is back the way it was, though not quite the same. That motif resolves itself as if to wink at the hypocrisy inherent in Japanese discourse on immigration and their own safe society. Social critique aside, this is a joyous film, superbly acted, deftly scripted and shot, and thought-provoking into the bargain. Brave, mature film-making that deserves to be seen by audiences in their thousands.

With comedy this dry, who needs drama? The sudden involvement of Hanataro and Annabelle in the Kobayashis' lives throws everything into chaos, above all for Natsuki, and the appropriate reaction tends to be cringing instead of laughing. I'm reminded of Charlie Kaufman, where the sense of humor is wry and offbeat, and wrapped up in a narrative that's off-kilter and uncomfortable (often until it becomes outright dark). Or really, Kaufman, twisted together with the backwards humor of Elaine May's 'The heartbreak kid,' and for good measure a touch of Darren Aronofsky's 'mother!' The ingrained social and cultural need to extend hospitality and good manners, and to maintain a polite facade no matter what, is pushed to its absolute limits, a dead-eyed satire of the utmost extreme. There's a bare-faced commentary herein on immigration, and how an existing population responds to an influx of newcomers, seen not just in the Kobayashi home being upended, but also in how Natsuki and Mikio navigate their domestic life, and above all in the attitudes of the "neighborhood watch" who are insistent on the problem of outsiders but take heavy-handed short-term solutions to other perceived issues. I really didn't know what I was getting into when I sat to watch 'Hospitalité,' and wow, have I been surprised.

Filmmaker Fukada Koji, serving as writer, director, and editor, rather rides a line here with the topics the movie broaches. It's probably the sort of thing that one could read into according to their own beliefs and values, and/or which is deliberately rides that line with the intent to offer perspective and get people thinking and talking. I don't specifically know what Fukada's intent was, any more than I am educated on immigration in Japan; what I do know is that his screenplay is admirably smart, and his direction and editing tight and sharp. The dialogue and scene writing are all but biting in their cringe-inducing awkwardness, and while the picture does delicately alight on more robust comedy that might earn a laugh, it is immediately answered anew with more of that stone-faced sensibility. I do think any sort of commentary herein gets a bit garbled at times as the narrative progresses - e.g., the productivity of immigrants on the one hand, and on the other hand, pushing out other citizens - but in fairness, that would be in keeping with the possible tightrope act one might assume. And with that we have the core of 'Hospitalité': the dry, uneasy comedy-drama, and the writing that provides the foundation. Excellent and steady as Fukada's direction is (and his editing) in realizing the tableau, they're just bonuses.

Fine production design adjoins some choice filming locations. The acting is terrific and nuanced; I'm especially fond of the subtle journey of exasperation we get with Sugino Kiki starring as Natsuki. This is well made in all regards, including crisp cinematography and sound design, and scrutinize the particulars as we may, the end result is definitely entertaining. Given the nature of the feature it won't appeal to all; this is the type of "comedy" for anyone who wants instant gratification and big reactions. If you're receptive to the more intellectual, off-key variety, however, then 'Hospitalité' is a fine credit to all involved and well worth exploring.