Within the ranks of the great masters of cinema, the works of German director Werner Herzog stand out as perhaps one of the boldest body of work of a filmmaker. While still largely known for his collaborations with actors Klaus Kinski, Herzog's work has moved far beyond masterpieces like “Fitzcarraldo” or “Nosferatu”, focusing on works of great thematic variety as feature films as well as documentaries. In his new work, “Family Romance, LLC” blends both feature film and documentary while telling the story of the real existing agency Family Romance, managed by Yuichi Ishii, who is also the star of the film. Through its various stories, some comedic, some more dramatic, Herzog explores the issue of modern relationships and lonesomeness in the 21st century.
“Family Romance, LLC” is screening at Nippon Connection 2020
For many years now “Family Romance, LLC” has been in business, offering the service of renting out actors and actresses posing as relatives or friends for their customers. Ishii, apart from his role as manager, is also one of the actors whom the camera follows as he plays various roles; for example, the father to 12-year-old Mahiro (Mahiro Tanimoto), who returns after being away for quite a long time. Together with Mahiro's mother, he has learned every detail about her husband, making his acting as convincing and natural as possible. Besides this role, he can also be seen as a stranger taking the blame for a railroad worker who has made a mistake, for example. Meanwhile, he meets various clients, introducing them to his company's work and its services, while also choosing the actors for the various jobs.
However, his job has taken its toll on Yuichi who confesses to a friend about his nightmares and fears of not being able to distinguish between what is a role and what is reality. To make matters worse, his acting in front of Mahiro is so convincing, she has accepted him as his father to a degree which becomes increasingly uncomfortable.
It is a rather rude awakening for any viewer when the true nature of many scenes is exposed as a mere presentation, an act Ishii has played. Similar to the pantomime he hires to entertain Mahiro on one of their encounters, he puts on a convincing show which he has perfected over the years, sticking to the principle of never allowing too much closeness or as he puts it to never be loved or fall in love. Somewhat ironically, the nature of his work, which is meant to spark feelings of joy, happiness and affection does not allow him or his employees to feel for real, a very demanding kind of performance the viewer will soon experience as the various roles of fathers, friends and relatives have left quite a mark on Yuichi.
While one might be quick to judge Yuichi and his various clients since they are basically lying to other people, potentially causing quite severe emotional trauma, Herzog's camera does not allow this kind of judgment. During one of the most telling encounters of the film, Yuichi visits a “robot hotel”, where, for example, the receptionists are robots addressing the guests. For research purposes, as he claims, he interviews its director, mentioning he is looking into the possibility of introducing robots to his company as well. Similar to his work in “Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World” (2016), Herzog portrays modern relationships, how they have changed and what we would do in order to overcome loneliness, even relying on technology. This, and many other instances of his film, pose rather provocative questions to the viewer, not just about our connections with each other, but also about the uniqueness of a person.
“Family Romance, LLC” is a thought-provoking blend of feature film and documentary. Through its various episodes, it deals with issues like human relationships and overcoming loneliness, presenting a sometimes sobering but also quite hopeful look on a very divisive subject matter.
