A.V. Club
Conversely, a more straightforward documentary might address the bigger questions Herzog barely grazes in fictionalization. Family Romance, LLC straddles the line between the two tacts and finds no ecstatic truth there.
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Family Romance, LLC
- Director:
- Werner Herzog ('Grizzly Man', 'Fitzcarraldo', 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God')
- Writer:
- Werner Herzog
- Cast:
- Mahiro TanimotoIshii Yuichi
Family Romance, LLC | Reviews
74%57 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
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The Guardian
Werner Herzog has taken a strange reality – the Japanese company which hires out stand-in friends and relatives – and pointlessly subverted it further.
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Variety
The “LLC” in the film’s title is a clue that the movie wasn’t conceived purely in a spirit of empathy, although Herzog’s humor is good-natured enough. If anything, Family Romance is just the latest iteration of a uniquely human desire to replicate the relationships we can’t control in our lives.
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Empire Magazine
A compelling curio from Werner Herzog, who investigates a strange real-life phenomenon through a fictional lens. It's worth watching, especially if you enjoy Herzog's lateral take on life, but it's hard not to wish he'd just made it as a straight documentary.
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IndieWire
While the movie’s rough production values and meandering plot never quite gel, Family Romance, LLC is a fascinating convergence of filmmaker and subject, providing the rare opportunity for Herzog to bury his observations in the material at hand.
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Hollywood Reporter
This is minor Herzog, to be sure, but alternately amusing and disarming nonetheless. It also makes an implicit request: Analyst, analyze yourself.
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Slant Magazine
We are never quite sure of the extent to which situations and dialogues have been scripted and, as such, it’s as though Herzog were more witness than author, more passerby than gawker, simply registering Japan being Japan.
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RogerEbert.com
Fans of Herzog — and that really should be all of you — should seek it out.
Full reviewFamily Romance, LLC | Release Details
Family Romance, LLC is available to stream in New Zealand now on Apple TV.