The Film Movement folks have picked up the theatrical rights to Koji Fukuda’s ‘Hospitalité‘ — what appears to be an atypical, not your run-of-the-mill type comedy from Japan that has been showing up on the film festival circuit. the distrib are looking to a fourth quarter release — so expect this one come November or December.
Gist: Considering that the Japanese don’t have huge living quarters, this could visually read as a Tati-esque humor. Mikio Kobayashi lives quietly with his wife, daughter, and divorced sister in downtown Tokyo, where xenophobic neighbors insist on them participating in community meetings, and the most exciting thing to happen is the disappearance of a pet parrot. But one day Kagawa appears, claiming to be the son of a financier who once helped Kobayashi’s company. In return for his family’s past help, Kagawa requests to move in, and Kobayashi’s quiet lifestyle is quickly forgotten when Kagawa invites his Brazilian (or is she Bosnian?) wife and a myriad of eclectic and foreign visitors to join him in the cramped apartment.
Worth Noting: Film preemed at notable fests such as Tokyo Int’l Film Festival Winner, Rotterdam and where the Film Movement folks probably caught the film, at this year’s New Directors/New Films edition.
Do We Care?: Judging by the unhinged feeling we get from the trailer below and Slant.com’s review, we get the impression that Koji Fukuda might be next inline in Japanese auteurs to watch out for.
