Hikari‘s new feature, Rental Family, is an unusually tender film. It introduces you to a corner of modern Japanese society that might seem bizarre at first: a service that hires actors to fill stand-in roles in people’s lives. But as the story unfolds in the bustling, beautiful backdrop of Tokyo , you realize the film is less about a peculiar business model and more about the simple, universal desire for human connection.
The lead is Phillip Vandarpleog (Brendan Fraser), an American actor adrift in Tokyo seven years after his big toothpaste commercial. He’s an outsider, physically towering over the city and its inhabitants, and emotionally isolated, watching fuller lives through his apartment window. His life changes when a gig lands him at a staged funeral—a man lying, still alive, in an open casket, just to hear his own eulogies. It’s an absurd introduction to the world of Rental Family, and Phillip is quickly recruited to be their “token white guy”.
Brendan Fraser’s performance here is a soulful marvel. He plays Phillip with a deep, unassuming sincerity that makes you instantly care for him. Phillip initially struggles with the moral gymnastics of the job, worried about the emotional deception involved. But he soon finds purpose in the roles, particularly in two concurrent assignments that become the emotional core of the film. One is playing an interviewer for Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto), a respected older actor who is losing his memory. The other is playing a father to Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman), an 11-year-old girl whose single mother needs a two-parent family unit for a private school interview.
These relationships immediately highlight the film’s central question: Can a transaction become a genuine bond? You watch as Phillip, who himself never had a father figure, slips into the role of a dad with a natural, loving warmth. The moral risks are obvious—Mia is being set up for a second abandonment. The director, Hikari, drew inspiration for this complicated family scenario from her own childhood, where her mother fabricated stories about her absent father. But the film presents the rental family service not as a scam, but as an alternative support system in a country where mental health services are not always easily accessible. The actors become surrogates, providing support, companionship, and a little bit of happiness for an hourly fee.
The movie’s strength lies in this gentle, empathetic handling of what it means to be emotionally present for another person. It’s an easy-flowing watch, but it carries a quiet weight. The world of the Rental Family agency itself is fascinating, thanks to Takehiro Hira as the owner, Shinji, and Mari Yamamoto as Aiko, Phillip’s co-worker. Aiko’s roles often involve absorbing blame for cheating husbands, showing the job’s darker, more humiliating side.
You come away thinking about the film’s belief that family is “who we include, rather than who we’re assigned to”. Phillip—and by extension, the audience—learns that if you invest in people’s lives, the feelings you create are true. It is a film that makes you want to call your own family and check in on them. Hikari succeeds in sharing a unique cultural story with universal, human feeling.
The film is set to be released in the US on November 21, 2025 and in the UK in January 2026.
Author
Jun Kit Man
Jun is a former News producer and reporter with extensive experience covering major global events.
In recent years, Jun has turned his focus to empowering the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) diaspora. His guest appearance on BBC Stories' "Meet the kids who grew up in Chinese Takeaways" highlights his personal connection to the community. As the founder of Resonate, he provides a platform for young ESEA creatives to showcase their talents globally.
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