By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Ishii Yuichi | Mahiro Tanimoto | Miki Fujimaki | Takashi Nakatani
Country: united_states
Year: 2020
Running time: 89
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10208194/reference
Diane says: “Werner Herzog is an odd duck, isn’t he? He comes upon an outré topic and treats it like no one else would. In FAMILY ROMANCE LLC (4 cats) Herzog takes off from a magazine story by a former student of his (which student is credited as producer).
“The movie could be mistaken for a documentary, but Herzog is only using real-life Tokyo business owner Yuichi Ishii to play someone very much like himself, and Yuichi’s troupe of real-life actor/employees to perform as actor/employees who are playing other roles. Herzog did all the filming himself with a very small camera, so that he could be inconspicuous to people on the street (and to those from whom he should have gotten a filming permit). He declined to have simultaneous translation of the improvised dialogue while he was shooting, so based his takes on whether the interactions looked authentic. Daring!
“MILD SPOILER ALERT: the business rents out actors to play the role of a customer’s family or friends. I wish I hadn’t known that, altho it’s revealed pretty early on. The one continuing thread is of Mr. Ishii playing the long-lost father of a quiet adolescent girl. Superb acting by leads Ishii (owner of Family Romance) and his ‘daughter’ Mahiro. Other scenes include faux paparazzi shooting a wannabe star, and a stand-in father of the bride (the real father is an unwelcome alcoholic).
“Herzog errs with two indulgently long segments, one about robots designed to fulfill our emotional needs and the other a dream sequence. Sometimes the film has a soap opera quality, but it mostly provides a gentle tug on the emotions. Yuichi Ishii has the air of a chaplain as he attempts to fix his clients’ hurts, their isolation, their feelings of loss. I wasn’t the only one who developed a crush on him. FAMILY ROMANCE LLC nicely raises questions like: Is it always good to get what you want? Is acting lying? Is lying necessary to our lives?
“I watched it for free—one day only—on MUBI, which included an intro by the director and a Q&A tagged on at the end.
“You can read the print interview between producer Roc Murin and Yuichi Ishii here:
https://www.theatlantic.com/
“P.S. Herzog feels strongly that people should read books—more than watch films, and he wants to be remembered for the books he’s authored, so maybe you and I should read one…”