An opportunity to witness Herzog's perfectly refined, and yet somewhat awkward style. Whilst the movie isn't riveting in a classical sense, the slow and constant rhythm draws us in.
There is a constant, permeating tension throughout the movie between reality and imitation. I found myself questioning this paradigm on two levels:
To what extent is this movie a documentary?
To what extent do the characters realistically portray family members?
As for the first question, the lines are extremely blurry. A family renting industry is known to exist, and Yuichi Ishii (the actor) is known to be the founder of one such company. Ishii claims the relationships throughout the movie are based on reality, but the New Yorker claims him to be unreliable. Nevertheless, the question itself is important and creates an uneasy tension as it plays and forth in our heads.
Ishii is clearly the standout in a cast of amateur actors. His performance is sensitive, realistic and almost paradoxically satirical (at times). He carries the story through to an emotional climax that poses yet more questions.
Herzog consistently uses complex metaphors and strong symbolism and a lot of the spiritual discourse of the movie can be found outside its dialogue (perhaps the result of Herzog directing in a second language).
In conclusion, give it a watch. It's a beautiful introduction to Herzog and will leave you with more questions posed than answered.
