When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to be Dead (2018) - Japan
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
The latest Japanese comedy by director Toshio Lee, despite its interesting premises of having a wife that pretend to be dead every time the husband returns home, is really at its core about modern marriage. What I liked about the film is the manner it approaches different aspect of a marriage and the importance of communication and understanding. All seems rather basic on paper goes far deeper and engages with the audience as a result. Comedy have the power to drift into emotional arena as we laugh and cry with the characters (played excellently by the youthful Nana Eikura and the steady Ken Yasuda) that are so easy to relate towards.
Nana Eikura plays the younger counterpart from a small town whose experienced the death of her mother at an early age. Eikura shows wonderful range and perfectly balanced the comic, innocence and emotions required of the role as the young wife. Ken Yasuda handles the salary man role well as he switches from playing along with Eikura and deeper scenes exceptionally well. The two display plenty of on-screen chemistry to make most of the situations.
All in all, this film is really about the difficulties of modern marriage and how to make it work will be unique and different for every couples. At its core it is a film about open communication, understanding and love. Director Toshio Lee succeeds in creating a film where that audience is intrigued and laughs along with all the pretend to be dead scenes as well as clicking to deeper emotions particularly well. Prepare for some tissues.
I rated it 8/10