The Great Happiness Space

I re-watched The Great Happiness Space last night. It is indeed set in Osaka. The opening shot is of its skyline, with the familiar subway chime and voice-over in the background. The documentary presents yet another side of the city, the world of the host club. Protagonist Issei explains, "When people ask me what a host does I say it's a business of selling dreams to people. In other words we have fake love relationships." Makes me wonder, though, how real relationships generally are; perhaps the host club merely brings relationships to an honest extreme, where transactions and delusions are openly acknowledged and deliberately indulged. I love the film. There are more layers of human nature and webs of lies in it than I can unravel in just one sitting. General Manager Kanata remarks in conclusion, "People are not so strong, especially alone. People are lonely and sad." It is then fascinating what we do to cope, or to convince ourselves otherwise.