#jake clennell

[genevieveetguy]

I don’t think I’m gonna be at all famous. I don’t think I could handle it, I would probably going mad. 

Amy, Asif Kapadia (2015)

[boatspeak]

5/5/17:

The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief

It was so honest I was surprised; I think even the director was surprised. Yet this honesty is simultaneously dishonest - It’s complicated and very human, and to be honest I’m not sure if the interviewees even know whether they are telling the truth, or merely repeating from some internalised, agreed-upon narrative. 

The documentary is built on interviews of several hosts and their customers, interspersed with footage of actual hosting. I liked how much coverage the customers got, so you get more sides of the story. As the documentary unfolds, the interviewees start to contradict themselves or reveal the undersides of what appears pleasant at the outset. Extremely poignant, for example, is a moment near the end of the documentary when Issei, host extraordinaire and owner of the featured host café, says they have to prevent their customers from waking up from the dream. Suddenly what he says at the start about them taking girls to a dream world, selling them a “Dream”, sounds less dreamy and more insidious. 

~~~~~~~~~~ other eye-opening articles ~~~~~~~~~~

the director is interviewed

+ on capitalism and justification

[crazyaboutfilm]

The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief