Robert R. Gray

家に帰ると妻が必ず死んだふりをしています(When I Come Home, My Wife Always Fakes Her Death) is the title of a unique movie with a strange origin. It’s based on a true story that began in 2010. A husband asked a peculiar question on Yahoo! Japan and it went viral. The popularity of it led a voice synthesized song, which led to a book deal, which led to a manga (big surprise), which finally led to a full movie deal. The movie came out this summer.

After being married for about three years, this husband comes home from work and finds his wife, Chie, dead on the floor from an apparent knife attack. When he starts freaking out, she starts laughing. It was all a joke. Relieved she was ok, he thought he would just let it go. But then a pattern emerged. She began doing it more and more often. Each time, more elaborate than the previous one: a crocodile attack,  an arrow through the head, a Romeo and Juliet scene, a Religious sacrifice, a war scene. It goes on and on. Obviously by then he knew she was just pretending, but he was getting tired of it and didn’t know what to do. So he did what any other modern-day person would do—he turned to the internet for help. He explained his dilemma and asked what to do about it on Yahoo! Japan. The bizarreness of the whole story launched it into an international movie festival.

I was curious enough to go see it myself. The movie starts out as a romantic comedy before growing into a stranger, more complex story. In the film, he doesn’t turn to the internet for help, but rather asks his co-worker friend. Other characters are created for contrast and to make it work as a drama. The plot then digs into Chie’s childhood to find an explanation for her odd behavior and obsession with death. If you’re looking for something different, you may want to check it out.