Have you ever had to train somebody to do your job? How’d it go? Have you ever had to train a reluctant or maladjusted person to do your job? How did that go? I’m reminded here of Armageddon, a film which assumed it would be easier to train construction workers to be astronauts than astronauts to be construction workers … well, that was Armageddon. And this is Masquerade Hotel, where a detective is asked to become a concierge, which isn’t as great a stretch but still requires a tact often unseen in people who who make their living in distrust.
A series of murders has plagued Tokyo. The cryptic clues point to another taking place soon at the exclusive Hotel Cortesia. The Tokyo police have decided to set-up shop in the hotel, which means that for a week or two, guests will have their baggage handled by *gasp* unprofessional-baggage handlers. And the front desk, normally “manned” by the professional school marm-y Naomi Yamagishi (Masami Nagasawa) will instead be handled by rogue Detective Kosuke Nitta (Takuya Kimura).
It’s funny how in the US, the “rogue detective” has blown away 34 bad guys, 4 suspects, and probably his own lieutenant. In Japan, the “rogue detective” doesn’t comb his hair. And in Japan, the hand is used like a knife.
We can see the conflict already, of course. In order to investigate properly, Detective Nitta is going to have to behave the way a Japanese man serving the front desk of a posh hotel would behave. And the difference is obvious: Ms. Yamagishi approaches all issues from the perspective of customer appeasement; Detective Nitta approaches all issues from the perspective of customer suspicion. Masquerade Hotel does a fantastic job of resolving the small conflict battles with an overview of catching a serial killer still in tact. Meanwhile, the true power of this piece comes in the slowly thawing relationship between school marm and rogue. The overwhelming theme is introduced early on and kept throughout – because of the nature of the business, a hotel is a stage; all residents, guests, and staff are players in a Masquerade. Who knows the genuine truth? And who is the real person … the one you see at the front desk, the one you see after hours, or someone else entirely?
Rarely do I have to dock a film for being “too professional.” The cinematography in Masquerade Hotel is so stunning that it almost looks like an infomercial for five-star accommodations. Similarly, the soundtrack is alternatively a tad too dramatic and a tad too underplayed. Half the motif sounds like a carnival caper while the other half sounds like the music when a Bond villain launches whatever Bond villains launch. Whatever went on screen, however, clearly had a lot of money behind it. This might be the only thing that truly gives me pause for putting an otherwise wonderful film in the top ten for 2019.
Murders suggest a hotel of doom
Yet a frenemyship has begun to bloom
Many wrongs need righting
Are you guys done fighting?
If so, why not just get a room?
Not Rated, 133 Minutes
Director: Masayuki Suzuki
Writer: Michitaka Okada
Genre: Pre-Whodunit?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Mystery junkies
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Future murderers
