Family Romance, LLC

It's been a while since I haven't heard about Werner Herzog. And now, this. Do Japanese people hire fake fathers or other friends? I wouldn't know. Do they travel long distances to consult with an oracle woman? I wouldn't know either. Is there an emergent industry of pretending you're dead, in order to see what it's like? How could I know? Are robots likely to take over from humans in ways we can't fathom yet? For sure. Can we pretend to fight without weapons? Absolutely. Do we need to save face in various situations? You can bet on it. Would we hire someone to take the blame and prosternate to the boss's feet instead of us? Don't answer no; you'd be lying. Stark interiors, formal attitudes, rigid dialogues- and a world of turmoil within. Is it reality? Is it a nearing, ominous future? Is it Japan? Is it not? Who cares, it's a good film. Who would have thought in 2019 that we would be quarantined globally in 2021? And yes, somewhere in south-east Asia I witnessed a situation in which two young men fell on their knees in front of an older guy- presumably their employer- and showed their deepest remorse and practically kissed his feet in public; they didn't stand up before the man touched their shoulders. Not a scene for European eyes.

I'm gonna be brief here: everyone could have done a documentary about this topic. We're talking about a japanese agency specialized in renting substitutes for dead family members! Herzog gives us coordinates and help us to ask the right questions to understand our apparently weird world. What is the role of the illusion? What connection does it have with the robotics and cinema? Is it totally evil? There's no judgment in the director's eye. Only representation, critical look and, of course, illusion.

The Wind Phone is a phone booth in Japan which people use to hold conversations with their loved ones lost in the tsunami of 2011. Here Herzog puts a woman on a cliff facing the ocean and gives her a receiver. "Did you speak with someone dead?, they ask her after she hangs up. "No. I tried instead to reach someone alive", she answers and you immediately recognize your communication with the living is as one-way as this. The existential solitude of modern man is on focus in this fine drama telling the invented story of a very real company called Family Romance which rents out actors to fill the gaps in our interpersonal relations.

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.

...you will not understand how 'real' this film is. It may appear banal or even boring if you don't appreciate how sensitive the Japanese are. For a society and culture as creative as Japan, the idea you would like to have someone who could 'fill in the gaps' in your life is quite possible. Werner Herzog was apparently influenced by an article in the NYT. I haven't read the article but I will try to find it, it is probably as interesting as the film. Wonderful images and roles.

BTW, if you haven't visited Japan, put it on you list of things to do, if possible.