ver the course of his career, Werner Herzog has operated within the
boundaries between fact and fiction, drama and documentary, in his
own inimitable way. His latest film, Family Romance, LLC, is another prime
example of just how effective and unique his style can be.
Ishii Yuichi runs the titular company, where a customer can hire a
performer to pretend to be their parent, a paparazzo snapping them around
town, or even to take the blame for their failings at work. Herzog wrote
the script, but based it around Yuichi’s real-life experiences running the
company and performing as an “actor of the everyday”, making it one of the
most literal examples of a film ‘based on a true story’. There is no voiceover
to signpost the truth, and the poetic use of slo-mo and score suggest a more
dramatic, constructed narrative than you might typically find in a doc.
His choice of material feels a little reverent upon closer inspection,
leaving out all but the softest criticisms of this burgeoning niche industry.
Likewise the performers appear guiltless about their profession, implying
the ends justify the means when it comes to satisfying customers. The
verité filming style exposes some weak performances within the cast, but
also poses a serious concern to every style-over-substance filmmaker out
there: the quality of performances are fixed no matter how you choose
to shoot them. Ishii is intelligent and sensitive in the lead role without
the assistance of complicated lighting and with blocking that’s no more
sophisticated than simple masters and over-the-shoulder shots.
Herzog ’s approach leaves us wondering whether we too have been
hoodwinked by these master performers, but it’s hard to argue with the
connection you see on screen between Yuichi and his ‘daughter’ Mahiro –
the relationship which dominates the film. Herzog takes an unconventional
route, but he manages to find emotional truth in this tender and funny story
about modern relationships. TOM BOND
ANTICIPATION. Herzog inside a
company that hires actors as parents? Sold.
ENJOYMENT.
Absurd, playful and strangely emotional.
IN RETROSPECT. A unique and thought-provoking
doc that provides more questions than answers.
ctor Aki Omoshaybi’s sweetly earnest debut feature is undone by its
attempts to apply dramatic conventions to the most banal aspects
of life. Set in London’s grey urban sprawl of housing estates, corner shops
and anonymous streets, it is powered by the tension caused by lies spoken
at the beginning of a new relationship. Single mum Jamie (Pippa Bennett-
Warner) and the protagonist Kyle (Aki Omoshaybi) have a thoroughly
modern meet-cute. They are both in line at a shop. She is attempting to
make a purchase using her debit card, however the card machine doesn't
work. He steps up to pay her bill with cash then chases after her and
implausibly enough, she coughs up her number. Both parties instinctively
lie to each other, and while she comes clean soon enough, he maintains
the front that he is a solicitor, when the truth is that he is unemployed,
with a criminal record and living precariously thanks to a childhood
trauma that unfolds in formulaic flashback instalments.
Omoshaybi stitches together a film-world out of the fabric of normality- dates in parks, the lights fusing, having a phone stolen – and the most
endearing moments arise when he focuses on the simple premise of
two people trying to be there for each other. However, despite the title,
none of it feels remotely real. There is no understanding in Omoshaybi's
script of the severity with which Kyle’s deceptions, once they surfaced,
would psychologically impact Jamie. As such, her character feels glib,
while his is flattened by heavily signposted baggage. There is the seed
of a moving idea here, and a sense that if Omoshaybi had let his true
interests breathe instead of stifling them beneath storytelling cliches, this
film would have come alive. Instead Real chugs along with no surprises
and, despite a committed performance by Bennett-Warner, the central
relationship is not convincing enough to drum up a romantic atmosphere.
SOPHIE MONKS KAUFMAN
ANTICIPATION.
An absolute sucker for romantic dramas.ENJOYMENT. Aki Omoshaybi’s heart is in the
right place but almost everything else isn’t.IN RETROSPECT. Cautiously interested to see what
Omoshaybi does next.Real
Directed by AKI OMOSHAYBI
Starring AKI OMOSHAYBI, PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER,
KAREN BRYSON
Released 24 APRILA
Family Romance, LLC
Directed by WERNER HERZOG
Starring MIKI FUJIMAKI, UMETANI HIDEYASU,
SHUN ISHIGAKI
Released 1 MAYO
084 REVIEW