This film is currently unavailable
Family Romance, LLC.
Werner Herzog is on typically thought-provoking form, dramatising the work of a ‘rent-a-relative’ service, in this Tokyo-set meditation on contemporary alienation.
Director: Werner Herzog
Overview
Intrigued by the story of a Japanese company that, for a fee, can supply people to imitate absent family members, Werner Herzog flew to Tokyo and filmed this scripted series of moments in the life of Family Romance, LLC. In an uncanny bit of re-re-enactment, the company’s founder Yuichi Ishii plays himself, as the man who performs multiple impersonations a day to fulfil people’s wishes. This includes passing as the estranged father of a 12-year-old girl, suddenly resurfacing in her life and dedicating time and attention to her. Amusing and disturbing in equal measure, Herzog’s film questions the bizarre nature of the social systems that we put in place to deal with our random existence and probes our blurry relationships to truth and love.
Related
Following Following
Drama 1999 67 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s gritty neo-noir first feature about a young London writer who gets drawn into a criminal underworld.
Student Services Student Services
Drama 2010 103 mins Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
A cash-strapped student becomes an escort exposing the stark realities of economic exploitation in this uncompromising gritty French drama.
Insomnia Insomnia
Thriller 2002 118 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.
The Long Walk The Long Walk
Horror 2019 116 mins Director: Mattie Do
An old Laotian farmer, haunted by past trauma, encounters a ghost who transports him back in time, in Mattie Do’s evocative genre-bending film.
Treading Water Treading Water
Drama 2024 122 mins Director: Gino Evans
A brutal, fascinating portrait of the realities of addiction and mental health issues, set against the backdrop of the iconic Manchester skyline.
I Am Curious - Yellow I Am Curious - Yellow
Drama 1967 117 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjoman's controversial classic following one woman's exploration of national identity and her own sexuality in 1960s Sweden.
Heart of Glass Heart of Glass
Comedy 1976 94 mins Director: Werner Herzog
An 18th-century Bavarian community falls apart when the local glassmaker dies, in Werner Herzog's mesmerising drama for which he famously directed his actors under hypnosis.
Land of Silence and Darkness Land of Silence and Darkness
Documentary 1971 85 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog’s profound and deeply moving documentary about the experiences of a community of deaf-blind people.
Fitzcarraldo Fitzcarraldo
Historical drama 1981 157 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Fitzcarraldo tells the story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, a fortune hunter who dreams of bringing opera to the Peruvian jungle.
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
Biopic 1974 109 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Herzog’s account of the historical character who captivated 19th-century Nuremberg after emerging from isolation after 16 years in a cellar.
Nosferatu the Vampyre Nosferatu the Vampyre
Horror 1979 107 mins Director: Werner Herzog
English language version of Herzog’s stimulating take on the Dracula story starring Klaus Kinski, with echoes of Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu.
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner
Documentary 1975 46 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog’s moving portrait of a record-breaking ski jumper.
Following Following
Drama 1999 67 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s gritty neo-noir first feature about a young London writer who gets drawn into a criminal underworld.
Student Services Student Services
Drama 2010 103 mins Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
A cash-strapped student becomes an escort exposing the stark realities of economic exploitation in this uncompromising gritty French drama.
Insomnia Insomnia
Thriller 2002 118 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.
The Long Walk The Long Walk
Horror 2019 116 mins Director: Mattie Do
An old Laotian farmer, haunted by past trauma, encounters a ghost who transports him back in time, in Mattie Do’s evocative genre-bending film.
Treading Water Treading Water
Drama 2024 122 mins Director: Gino Evans
A brutal, fascinating portrait of the realities of addiction and mental health issues, set against the backdrop of the iconic Manchester skyline.
I Am Curious - Yellow I Am Curious - Yellow
Drama 1967 117 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjoman's controversial classic following one woman's exploration of national identity and her own sexuality in 1960s Sweden.