Review of The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief (2006) by Darryl K — 03 Jan 2011

Most people outside of Japan have probably never even heard of the subject matter of GHS and would laugh if you tried to describe it, (the host/hostessing industry) but if you have ever been in Japan you'll definitely have wondered about these fashionably flawed figures standing on street corners at night.

While a bit on the low-budget side, Clennell does a great job in getting honest answers and diving into the world surrounding Hosts, Hostesses and even Soap Land workers. There is a brutal honesty here that is very intriguing and underneath the seedy surface are regular people like you and I, people searching for love and happiness.

But that is the very problem in this production - the production is too honest to be picked up by a Japanese distributor (a Japanese company would never try to make something showing fallacy in a Japanese cultural habit, just look at the reaction to the Cove) and the subject matter is too obscure for those not familiar with Japan.

Still an interesting watch if you can get your hands on it.