Interview: 'Rental Family' Director Hikari on Crafting an Uplifting Film

"Sometimes the story we tell ourselves becomes the truth." One of the year's most heartwarming, uplifting films is Rental Family, inspired by the stories of real rental agencies in Tokyo, Japan. Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser stars as an American actor living in Tokyo who decides to take on a job working for a people rental agency - they hire people to play fathers, mothers, sons, friends, husbands, whatever is necessary for someone who needs to "rent" a person. Rental Family is directed by the Japanese-American filmmaker known as Hikari (real name Mitsuyo Miyazaki) as her second feature film following 37 Seconds, along with her work directing the series "Beef" for A24 & Netflix. I'm honored that I had a chance to spend a few minutes chatting with Hikari – I really wanted to ask her thoughts about her uplifting intentions with the film, the reactions to it, as well as her hopes that it might influence Japanese society (and anyone else) to work on being a bit better. Read on for my convo with Hikari - and catch Rental Family in theaters now. Rental Family is directed by Hikari, from a screenplay co-written by Hikari and Stephen Blahut. It initially premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and opened in theaters during Thanksgiving this fall. Brendan Fraser stars as Phillip Vanderploeg, […]