Kazuto has a lifelong dream of becoming an actor but has been suffering from a special medical condition where he faints and collapses when he gets nervous.
“All acting is a lie. It’s one big lie.”
From the mouth of a director straight to Kazuto’s ears we get a window seat into a feel-good heist movie from Shinichiro Ueda. The farfetched premise allows the audience to draw close to our protagonist and gain a window into his disparate life. A wannabe actor infiltrates a cult with his brother despite a medical condition where he faints under stress. This movie lifts up the audience with its delightful tone and comedic heist without ever spending a ton of money, proving “Special Actors” deserves the widest audience in the best possible way.
From the very beginning, we’re promised a wild ride as protagonist Kazuto completely faints on a barking director during an audition. His inability to cope with stressful situations makes him the least likely person to join a troupe of actors and yet not only does he join them (at his brother’s insistence) but he also takes the central role in a play designed to take down a cult. With pressure at every angle it’s impressive Kazuto manages to stay awake but the film takes great pains to advance the plot quickly while delivering on important character work.
The whole cast really helps build out this delightful film. Kazuto’s brother entrances us with a devil-may-care attitude approach to the whole thing bad boy-ing his way through every scene. The leader of the troupe frets over his lack of respect from his screenwriter. The director of the troupe bosses people around with military fortitude. Similarly, the cult they’re duping round out nicely between their enigmatic leader Tamaru and his sleazy businessman father the personalities rebound in such a nice way it’s fun to see these characters rebound off each other.
The true joy of this movie comes from watching the scammers get scammed. Like all great heist movies, there’s plenty of twists and turns and rug pulls. In classic heist fashion, the audience feels in on the heist while also failing to notice the biggest reveal of all (no spoilers!) What makes this movie so fun is the incredulity of the entire “heist.” The film feels like if a community theater troupe tried to trick a low budget Scientology cult startup. None of the players involved should fall for such goofy theatrics and the audience is constantly worried about the mental capacity for the cultists and even the actors at times. By the film’s end, you root for the heroes and laugh through the final confrontation. While poking fun at heist movies through its elaborate theatrics and gimmicky premises, “Special Actors” gets to have its cake and eat it too as the audience finds themselves rooting for the heist to succeed.
Don’t overthink this film or try to stay one step ahead, it’s merely a production of goodwill for audiences to bask in and enjoy. Despite the stakes feeling objectively low we buy into the premise and excite ourselves over the next step in the con. For a simple ray of sunshine, this movie pulls it all off on a shoestring budget. I admire the genuine pathos employed and the abandonment of necessary budget tools. The film’s score can feel more like a royalty-free cut from the internet, it utilizes basic cinematic language to effect. We know which song is good, which song signals tension, and which songs harken to a memory of a previous scene. Ueda’s impressive use of basic cinematic language helps this entire movie function and its amazing cast rounds it out. Stick around to the very end because, like all great heist movies, there’s one last rug pull waiting for you.
“Special Actors” recently premiered at Fantasia Festival
