Fantasia Film Festival 2020 Screening – Poor Kazuto (Kazuto Osawa). All he wants in the world is to be an actor. But how does he become an actor when he has a chronic condition, which causes him to faint whenever he’s nervous? We meet Kazuto in an acting class. He’s not bad… but he isn’t quite good yet either. When an acting teacher confronts him, he immediately faints. If only this was the end of Kazuto’s problems! It seems (though this is largely hinted at and not quite explained) Kazuto has some daddy issues, and issues with authority, and issues with anxiety, and issues with money, and issues with … well… everything. Shortly after Kazuto is warned he will be let go from his job as a security officer, as he struggles to hold his fragile mind together, a fight breaks out in the square he is patrolling. Rather than engaging, Kazuto lets the fight fizzle out, as he squeezes his lucky stress ball (which is shaped like a boob). When the fight is over, he turns to investigate the damage, only to see that the antagonist was his brother, Hiroki (Hiroki Kono). After a brief catch up, Hiroki takes Kazuto to his acting agency, hoping to help him make a connection.

Special Actors isn’t just any old acting agency, though. Sure, they do the normal things, sending actors out for commercial work and so on, but they also send actors out on a different kind of work – Real Life Acting.  People come in and hire the actors at the agency to help them in real life situations – actors laughing in an audience to get a movie better responses. Actors standing in lines to make them seem longer and get people interested. Actors helping a mother break up her daughter from her awful boyfriend. It’s real life playing pretend – or perhaps strike that, reverse it. Kazuto tries his best to find an excuse not to join as his anxiety takes hold, but he receives a perfectly timed phone call from his angry landlord about overdue rent, and a friendly reminder from Hiroki that the agency pays on the spot, and so he takes the leap. 

Soon, the agency gets a request bigger than any they’ve ever received – A family owned in is being overtaken by a cult, called Musubiru. The actors infiltrate the cult initiations and meetings, slowly learning of the nefarious plans the cult leaders have in place. Kazuto is sure he’s found his calling, and he is even getting better, and less anxious, but a dramatic run in with the cultists leads him to a relapse of his fainting spells, and Kazuto will have to dig deep to find the strength to cure himself, and save the inn.

The pacing of SPECIAL ACTORS is particularly mindful, jumping from mad dash montage sequences to slow and serious infiltration and espionage. While the middle portion of the film slows down considerably, it’s strategically done and never drags. In fact, with a runtime of nearly two hours, I found myself wanting more of SPECIAL ACTORS. The concept seems ripe for a series, and I fell so deeply for each character I couldn’t help wanting more from all of them. SPECIAL ACTORS doesn’t skimp on character, and every single one is fleshed out and fantastically performed by a remarkable ensemble cast. 

SPECIAL ACTORS is the epitome of a feel-good film. Down to its core, there’s an essence of sweetness and sincerity pervasive throughout. The epilogue of the film was so powerfully sweet that it left me grinning ear to ear, with tears in my eyes. Overflowing with heart, and exploding with silliness, SPECIAL ACTORS reflects on what truly matters – family, friends, and believing in yourself. Maybe we can all learn from Kazuto – our fears and anxieties may not ever truly leave us, but with family and friendship, we can find the superhero within us all.

8/10 stars