Review of The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief (2006) by Andy T — 16 Apr 2008

This was all new to me. In Japan they have organized ways of having beautiful girls entertain you. One such business is the concept of a hostess club for guys. But digging deeper still, there are host clubs for women too. And this is where the documentary focuses on.

It's interesting to see how all the japanese host guys were very effeminate and they didn't exert Western notions of masculinity or the aura of a tough protector. Yet they still retained popularity with the girls. The documentary focuses on the host club as a business. It's all very civilized and calmly organized by strange Japanese boy-band lookalikes.

At first I thought host clubs existed because more women have higher incomes and they are looking for ways to spend their money on guys, as casual entertainment.

The film brought to light that the majority of clients in host clubs are actually prostitutes or 'soap girls.' These clubs are havens for girls who have made lots of money and what was deeply fascinating was that the motivations behind the girls being long term clients had very little to do with sex.

The desperate craving for love, trust and genuine affection is captured very well from both sides (the hosts and the clients). It got a bit messy near the end of the documentary as a 'host' rants about the delusions of one of his 'clients.' It just seemed a bit pointless to film, as it showed a pseudo 'if only you knew the truth' conversation from both points of view.

The documentary left me feeling heavy and kinda feeling sorry for the hosts and clients... but girls from all walks of life go to host clubs not just ones in vice. On a lighter note, I know a girl who has been to a 'host club' (she won't admit to how many times) and embraces the fantasy of getting drunk and closeup to the boys!