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Buried Treasure - The Great Happiness Space

For more on hosts and hostesses, I recommend:

• Sinclair, Joan. Pink Box: Inside Japan's Sex Clubs. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2006. ISBN 0810992590.

On hostesses:

• Louis, Lisa. Butterflies of the Night: Mama-Sans, Geisha, Strippers, and the Japanese Men They Serve. New York: Tengu Books, 1992. ISBN 083480249X.

Wikipedia also has an article.

I'm pretty sure they were talking about earning up to 50 000$ per month, not per week.

There was a panel at a con I was hosting a few months back where the subject of maid and butler cafes came up and someone else asked about host clubs. I could see myself practically shattering their dreams upon revealing it was actually a much seedier business than Ouran portrayed it to be.

I've seen hosts in action on the street in Tokyo trying to get young women to come into their clubs. Quite a clump of them set up in the plaza across the street from Studio ALTA in Shinjuku in the early evenings. All sorts of pretty boy styles ranging from soft to very tough looking but still pretty.

Not surprised there's an actual dark side to the male host phenomenon, though wasn't aware of a film regarding it until now. The only thing that came to mind was the episode of CSI about the host club in Las Vegas. (Anime fans among TV writers? Say it ain't son.) Will have to rent The Great Happiness Space. Thanks.

BTW, how does Memoirs of a Geisha stand up up for you and what are other good films you'd recommend about the host / geisha / etc cultures?

Oh my~ :'o
Something different.
Maan~
I feel so sorry for them. T.T
I'd like to watch this documentary sometime.
I hope I'd be able to find it somewhere. ='o

"Everyone goes around trying to find their soulmate but no matter how hard they look, they can never find it. So instead they force two bodies together. Everyone wants to use that short time they have together to open their hearts. Even if it's a one night dream bought with money."

After reading what that young host said after breaking down I immediately thought of that quote said by Lawrence in the Boys Next Door. Anime cry

Anyway, I recently watched a BBC documentary called Geisha Girl not too long ago and it really informed me on how modern Geisha's are surviving in this era. I really enjoyed watching that and I'm sure I'll enjoy watching this one.

Thank you so much for your review. <3

This really is one of the most incredible documentaries I've seen, although I've gotta say it's better if you go into it knowing as little as possible about what you're going to to see. That way all the twists really catch you by surprise. It's just amazingly put together as a film, even if the subject matter wasn't so fascinating to begin with.

Thanks for this review! I've been curious about this ever since Nerima Daikon Brothers hinted at there being a darker side to host clubs than Ouran showed (as I suspected). As soon as I get my Netflix account up again, I'm going to be renting this out.

This is indeed a fantastic but gut-wrenching film. The interviews with the female customers on those steps were what really got to me. You can only hope these people (hosts and customers) will find a healthy way to build self-esteem and eliminate their compulsive loneliness... but it's hard to be optimistic after seeing Happiness Space.

I think what I found most interesting in this film is that 90% of the customers they interviewed were either hostesses or prostitutes. These women do a similar job for a living, yet they still feel they can make the host, especially Issei, fall in love with them. I think that is the saddest of all. If they feel that way towards their clients, what makes them think the host club men will feel any different towards them?

It may seem like a glorious lifestyle, but these men will never be able to have normal relationships, as they said in the movie. They've seen the lies women keep, they see some of them at their worst, and they could never get over that distrust in an actual relationship.

I'm incredibly interested in this part of Japanese culture, and this documentary was very educational.

Great review, thanks for bringing more attention to this one!

Very interesting article. I might just check that movie out. But, I have to point out...
EVANGELION CORRECTION!!!! The quote you're thinking of is not from Misato, but from Asuka Langley Soryu.
BEHOLD!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_h71HRDXv4&feature=PlayList&p=2CB2B123A55D55CA&index=84 (NOTE: English script here reads "Two depressed grownups licking each other's wounds".)

Anyone clicking this who HASN'T seen The End of Evangelion has been DULY WARNED!!!!

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Forum - View topicBuried Treasure - The Great Happiness Space

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Buried Treasure - The Great Happiness Space