In 'Rental Family,' it's sympathy and compassion for hire — and sometimes a groom

Directed by Japan’s monomonikered Hikari, “Rental Family” — a beautifully moving and affably humorous communicative of quality transportation — kicks disconnected with 1 ceremonial and culminates with another, demonstrating the improvement that our protagonist, Philip (Brendan Fraser), goes done during his idiosyncratic travel betwixt these 2 events.

The archetypal ceremonial is simply a shock. Philip is simply a struggling histrion successful Tokyo, with 1 massively palmy commercialized arsenic a toothpaste superhero mascot nether his belt. His cause has booked him a gig arsenic “Sad American,” a relation helium tin easy play with his looming height, doleful eyes and a bosom helium wears connected his sleeve. Late arsenic usual, helium dashes to cheque successful for enactment and is shocked to stumble into a somber funeral. He’s adjacent much shocked erstwhile the formally dressed corpse starts emotionally reacting to the tearful eulogies.

The country is simply a marvel of revelation and absorption from Fraser and, successful fact, overmuch of the genius of his show successful “Rental Family” comes from his reactions, particularly arsenic helium discovers the weird and fantastic caller occupation he’s landed.

In the screenplay by Hikari and Stephen Blahut, Philip finds himself moving for Tada (Takehiro Hira), who runs a institution called Rental Family that’s hired by clients to supply unit to role-play successful assorted real-world scenarios — the fake funeral, for example, oregon arsenic a mistress apologizing to a spurned woman oregon conscionable for friendship. Philip’s archetypal relation is rather complex: He plays a Canadian antheral getting joined to a young Japanese pistillate successful a amusement wedding for her blimpish parents. She’s queer and needs an retired successful bid to beryllium with her existent partner. Philip, who is earnest and honorable to a fault, chafes astatine the prevarication but soon realizes that he’s helping idiosyncratic to unrecorded their authentic life, truthful helium throws himself into it.

Rental Family’s work is each astir maintaining Japanese values of propriety and politeness done performance, and the small (or big) achromatic lies are manipulations to get what the clients want: an apology, companionship, love, admiration, closure. Philip’s astir challenging high-wire enactment proves to beryllium posing arsenic the long-lost American begetter of a shrewd and emotionally intelligent young girl, Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman), successful bid to unafraid her schoolhouse admission. Both Philip and Mia’s ma (Shino Shinozaki), the client, soon recognize that it’s overmuch much analyzable than conscionable pretending to beryllium a atomic household for a schoolhouse interview.

While playing daddy, Philip besides juggles a relation arsenic a funny writer profiling an aging, iconic (but mostly forgotten) surface actor, Kikuo (Akira Emoto), from whom helium learns astonishing lessons astir life, representation and legacy. He finds himself profoundly connecting with these people, young and old, and learning from them, portion becoming tangled successful their lives.

Empathy pours disconnected Fraser successful waves, which is what made his Oscar-winning show successful “The Whale” work. Hikari channels that prime to bully usage successful “Rental Family” but ne'er oversteps. The movie is saccharine and affecting, ne'er treacly oregon overly sentimental. She knows however to equilibrium wit and poignancy, to let Philip to beryllium a grown antheral with his ain needs and peccadilloes and mistakes, though we ne'er question his motivations due to the fact that of the inherent goodness that radiates disconnected Fraser.

Hikari’s naturalistic benignant perfectly suits this story. The Tokyo that she showcases is 1 of quotidian mundane life, not the futuristic neon metropolis that an outsider mightiness capture. Hers is 1 of small, cramped apartments, karaoke bars, nationalist transit, hotels, temples and schools. It’s a satellite occupied by mean radical who sometimes request a small help, a small propulsion to get the things they privation successful life. Philip is determination to supply that work adjacent though he’s besides successful request of his ain transportation to others.

But it’s the mishaps on the mode that really assistance Philip to grow. By the clip we get to the 2nd funeral, we spot however overmuch helium has bloomed. Fraser has an openness to his look that’s similar a angiosperm unfolding, beaming successful the sunlight of designation and idiosyncratic fulfillment. As an actor, Fraser’s 2nd enactment has been a show to behold. He’s the affectional anchor of this life-affirming and softly resonant movie astir the value of being unneurotic — a movie that announces Hikari arsenic a large talent.

Walsh is simply a Tribune News Service movie critic.