Rental Family

‘'Rental Family'' is a work by Japanese director Hikari. It is set in present-day Tokyo and follows the story of Philip (Brendan Fraser), an American actor who is going through a personal crisis.

His life is made up of a series of misfortunes: his professional career is not taking off, he feels lonely living in Tokyo, which, in turn, feeds his isolation from his surroundings and strengthens his disconnection from the world. 

Tired of this gray life, he accepts a peculiar job. An agency that offers “rental families.” Determined to use his acting skills, he takes it. He works for a series of clients for whom he must play a series of fictional roles in each of their real lives.

His purpose is to fill the voids that those people feel, as well as his own. One day he may play a family father, another a son, or even a husband. Whatever the story he is hired for, he must fulfill it. 

What starts as a mere job for him ends up gripping him inside. He becomes a father figure to a little girl, shares intimate moments with an older woman, accompanies an elderly man struggling with his past…

With each passing day, the fragile line between reality and acting becomes increasingly blurred. 

‘'Rental Family'’ accompanies Philip and the viewer to discover the meaning of chosen family, human connection, and the profound sense of having a purpose in being.