Trespassing. Somehow, it doesn’t sound that serious, does it? You’re always hearing about people being accused of trespassing simply for walking along a footway that someone believes to be on their land. It just means you were somewhere you had no right to be. Not doing anything, just being there. That’s exactly how it is for the heroines of Trespassers (侵入者たちの晩餐, Shinnyuushatachi no Bansan) who basically enter a home without permission, nosy around, then feel guilty and decide to clean the place to make up for it but accidentally find a burglar hiding in a corner! Could happen to anyone, really.
Of course, there’s a little bit more to it than that. Middle-aged divorcees Akiko (Rinko Kikuchi) and Megumi (Kami Hiraiwa) work for the same exploitative housekeeping company which pays them a pittance while the boss, Natsumi (Mai Shiraishi), a former pin-up model turned influencer and entrepreneur, lives the high life. Though she claims to be an ally to working mothers, she also refuses to hire them because they have additional responsibilities that make it difficult for them to stick to her schedule, apparently. Megumi has heard a rumour that Natsumi is really into tax evasion and is hiding a large amount of undeclared money in her luxury flat, which is a rental in the company’s name that she also writes off. Of course, if someone were to steal that money, Natsumi could hardly go to the cops because then she’d have to admit she’d been cheating on her taxes. Why she wouldn’t just put it in a secret offshore account like everyone else is anyone’s guess, but everyone has their peculiarities and perhaps she just likes to have it handy.
On entering with a cloned key and joined by Megumi’s yoga friend Kanae (Yo Yoshida) who “knows a lot about criminality”, the trio fail to discover the money or any evidence of tax evasion. Rather, Natsumi seems to have several certificates thanking her for donating large amounts of money to various charities which leaves the ladies feeling guilty for doubting her. Akiko had been the most morally conflicted about taking the money and was only persuaded on the condition that they would be giving the majority of it to worthy causes, so they were “helping people” like Robin Hoods rather than just helping themselves like greedy thieves. Megumi meanwhile had been less so and swayed by the rationale that Natsumi was exploiting them twice over by paying them such low wages and then depleting the public purse by thieving the money that should have been paid in taxes. Kanae, just seems to be along for the ride while hoping to open a yoga school with the money, but in a giant and unfortunate coincidence discovers another reason that Natsumi must pay.
Even the burglar, Shigematsu (Sosuke Ikematsu), a failed businessman with massive debts working as a food delivery guy to pay them off, has a sob story, but as the ladies point out it doesn’t really match the righteousness of their tax evasion whistleblowing mission. There is something quite wholesome about how bad they all are at “crime”, and how good Natsumi secretly is at it. It doesn’t even occur to the ladies that Natsumi’s willingness to forgive them is possibly because they’re right and she doesn’t want the police poking round because they might find something she doesn’t want them to. Meanwhile, it’s a little sad that each of them lament it’s been a while since they ate at home with other people rather than at restaurants and there’s something quite nice about their collective decision to make it a tradition though at one of their own homes rather than that of a suspected tax evader.
Indeed, as Akiko says, the real prize was the friends they made along the way. In many ways, they made everything better. Natsumi gets her comeuppance, they get improved working conditions, revenge, friendship and female solidarity too. What they found in Natsumi’s apartment was a family, though sadly they did not discover her hidden stash of hoarded gold. Bakarhythm’s typically witty script addresses a series of societal problems in a lighthearted way from the difficulties faced by middle-aged women and divorcees trapped in low-paying jobs, to hypocritical and exploitative CEOs peddling positive messages of success and empowerment but actually ripping off an entire society while laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe the ladies weren’t the ones trespassing after all when Natsumi too was where somewhere she had no right be.
Windows on Worlds 