Hospitality – Kantai (2010)

Directed by: Koji Fukada | 96 minutes | comedy | Actors: Kanji Furutachi, Kumi Hyôdô, Tatsuya Kawamura, Bryerly Long, Hiroko Matsuda, Eriko Ono, Haruka Saito, Naoki Sugawara, Kiki Sugino, Kenji Yamauchi

Director Kôji Fukada enjoys some fame in Japan, where comparisons are often drawn with legendary names such as Yasujirô Ozu, but in his second film, Kôji proves that the sincere similarities are unjustified. ‘Hospitalité’ makes no sense and is painfully not humorous for a comedy. Some signs of absurdism are hardly worked out, so that the grotesque character of some characters – which Kôji is aiming for – does not come into play. And why the Japanese film was given a French title will never be clear.

For incomprehensible reasons, ‘Hospitalité’ won the prize for the best debut at the Tokyo Film Festival; not only is the flat film not worthy of prizes, but it is also Kôji’s second work after ‘Tokyo Ningen Kigeki’.

While the film pretends to be a satire on the various political and cultural situations in Japan, such as xenophobia (fear of strangers), it is at no point in the film corrosive enough to actually make an impression. The stranger who invades the Kobayashi family’s privacy causes the dwindling family business to take off, making him more of a savior than an uninvited guest. He only invites the many friends at the end, which makes the whole thing so unbelievable that the film can no longer top it.

One of the biggest weaknesses of ‘Hospitalité’ is Kôji Fukada’s weak screenplay. The characters often remain so flat, two-dimensional and barely developed that involvement with protagonist Kobayashi is virtually impossible. Since this involvement is a prerequisite for the film’s success, it fails miserably. The story seems to have been written together in one evening, as the various storylines barely touch each other and the plot has to gain such alienating momentum towards the end of the film to tie all the strings together that any ability to put things into perspective must be strange to the makers. have been. Kôji would do well to hire a (co) screenwriter in the future, because his own screenplay is far below par.