Loading ...The House of Himiko was inspired by a newspaper article about a house for aging gay men. The director decided to create a story illustrating the fragile relationship of Japan’s aging population and having a homosexual identity. The film is directed by Isshin Inudo. The lead characters are portrayed by Kou Shibasaki as Saori, Min Tanaka as Himiko, Saori’s father and Joe Odagari as Haruhiko, Himiko’s lover.
The House of Himiko or Mezon do Himiko in Japanese is a house for aging gay men. The house is a safe haven for these unique individuals, giving them a living space free from intolerance and prejudice. Here, the pressures of having a tatemae, or a public face, disappeared. Free from tradition and the rules of society, the residents at the House of Himiko can leave inhibition behind and are free to be themselves.
The lead character, Saori, is the antithesis to a typical Japanese woman. She has a low self-esteem, socially inept, perpetually in debt and though not unattractive, refuses to act cute and womanly. She also tends to screw around with her boss from her part time work and leafs through recruitment ads for phone sex workers on her free time. Her life changes one day when she is visited by, Haruhiko at her workplace. Haruhiko has an attractive job offer. He offers her a high paying position as a part time worker in a retirement home for gay men. There is a catch, though. Mezon do Himiko or House of Himiko is owned and managed by her estranged father, Himiko.
Saori has unresolved issues with her father. She hasn’t forgiven her father for leaving her and her mother. She also hasn’t forgiven the fact that her father is living an openly gay life. Himiko ran a popular gay establishment during the prime of his life. He is also currently having a relationship with an attractive young man, Haruhiko, who is about Saori’s age. Despite Saori’s reservations over living with her estranger father, Saori decided to accept the job out of curiosity and to be able to pay her debts.
At first, Saori resisted being pulled into the life at the retirement home. Despite her resistance, however, Saori rightly belongs to the place. Like the gay residents of the retirement home, she refuses to hide her anger and disillusionment with the society at large. Saori is as obstinate and unladylike as Haruhiko and Himiko are womanly and gay. As Saori becomes used to the life in the House of Himiko, she is slowly endeared to the residents and to the steady life within the retirement home. She struggles with the residents for the upkeep of the retirement home and fights the neighborhood bullies. Despite her obvious contempt for the gay community, she gamely sways with them on the dance floor or mimic characters from anime.
The movie is without its stereotypes of extravagant divas and cute pretty guys romanticized by shojou mangas. Himiko belongs to the first set while Haruhiko belongs to the second.
Additional Information:
Director: Isshin Inudo
Producer: Osamu Kubota, Shinji Ogawa
Writter: Aya Watanabe
Casting: Joe Odagiri, Kou Shibasaki, Min Tanaka
Music: Haruomi Hosono
Cinematography: Takahiro Tutai
Editing: Hirohide Abe
Distributed By : Asmik Ace Entertainment
Running time 130 min.
