FUKUCHAN OF FUKUFUKU FLATS (2014)

Fuku-chan of FukuFuku Flats, Fukufukusou no Fukuchan (2014)
Directed by: Yosuke Fujita
Written by: Yosuke Fujita
Starring: Asami Mizukawa, Miyuki Oshima, Tateto Serizawa, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa

Available now from Third Window Films and On Demand

Writer and director Yosuke Fujita’s Fukuchan of Fukufuku Flats is ostensibly just a rom-com about lonely outcasts. An offbeat and quirky drama in which characters try (some more successfully than others) to navigate their mundane lives or move from various states of arrested development. But under the typical trappings of the genre (including toilet humour and random moments of slapstick) is a darker story about bullies and abusers that has a something to say beyond the plot about finding love and friendship.

Fukuda, (Miyuki Oshima) or Fukuchan to his friends, lives in a small block of apartments along with his odd-couple neighbours Nonoshita (Asota Iida) and Mabuchi (Tateto Serizawa). The former is a paranoid loner who travels the region’s shrines as penance for a misdemeanour that he’s always worrying about. The latter is a seemingly stoic member of the group who lives with a pet snake, although he has an emotional side that occasionally slips out. But Fukuda, like the other residents, harbours issues that often make him seem immature; despite the way he’s always on hand to give advice and help his friends.

It’s something that causes problems when his work colleague Shimacchi (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) arranges a double date and thinks that Fukuda will come alone to meet a potential new girlfriend. During their day jobs painting and plastering Fukuda is the sensible one, sorting out workplace disputes, while Shimacchi is crass and abrasive. But in their time off Fukuda just wants to build models and kites. The story might begin with fart jokes but it soon branches out into a versatile relationship drama where more serious issues bubble under the surface.

The main one stems from the past actions of Chiho, (Asami Mizukawa) a would-be photographer, in what seems like a disconnected B-plot for most of the first act. But her success in this field is limited following a disturbing encounter with a big name artist who turns out to be a big time creep. This is played for laughs but he’s painted as a nasty piece of work almost immediately, and things get worse before Chiho decides to escape his grasp. A café owner suggests that her current misfortune is due to bad karma (which seems pretty harsh) but this sets the course for the main narrative.

It’s something that takes a while to get moving. All of the oddballs bumbling through their lives, the sudden shocks of darkness, and the odd musings on past actions and present luck, give away that the director is used to making short films. Certain scenes stand out as being more like sketches than others; in particular an encounter in a curry restaurant. But as things progress it does become more of a story about kindness and cruelty, while retaining enough humour along the way. There’s a certain rhythm to the story as it shifts between laughter and tears, and eventually Chiho and Fukuda figure out whether their friendship is possible.

Fukuda is played by a female TV personality for reasons that seem personal to the both film-maker and the actor. Inspired by the long running Tora-san film series (starting with the aptly named It’s Tough to be a Man) the hero is an outsider who struggles to find love. The plot is about Fukuda’s unusual looks inspiring both Chiho and the wider public, perhaps mirroring Oshima’s success in comedy. It seems that this project, which might never have been made without her, was a way of examining bullying and those who feel distant from society. Still, whatever the details are it’s a moving performance that goes from detached stoicism to tragedy and happiness.

Beyond the jokes about being able to wipe your own backside it’s a film that wants to say that positive actions can undo negative ones; even if things are never quite so straightforward. The larger threat of real mental health problems looms in the third act and the final notes are bittersweet and nebulous at best. But some characters do work things out once they gain confidence and find out who their real friends are. It’s a strange and uneven affair but it’s often compelling (and charming) thanks to the actors, the musical choices, and the overall themes. Things in life might be dire but you can always go and fly a kite.