MUBI hosts free preview of Werner Herzog’s Family Romance, LLC
David Farnor | On 25, Jun 2020
MUBI is hosting a few preview of Werner Herzog’s Family Romance, LLC this July.
In collaboration with the UK distributor Modern Films, the latest film from the Aguirre and Cave of Forgotten Dreams helmer will be available to stream on MUBI for free for 24 hours in the UK and Ireland. Herzog, who not only directed but also served as writer and cinematographer, will introduce the virtual preview and also take part in an exclusive 15-minute Q&A.
The film, which premiered at Cannes in 2019, tells the story of a Tokyo-based company that offers the perfect stand-ins for absent family members, friends or admirers – available to rent for any occasion. In a fictionalised take on this real-life company, Herzog follows founder Yuichi Ishii as he helps his clients make their dreams come true. But when the mother of 12-year-old Mahiro hires Ishii to impersonate her missing ex-husband, the line between performance and reality threatens to blur.
Shot by Herzog himself, the film blends fiction storytelling with documentary-style visuals to explore questions of truth and artifice in the age of loneliness.
The free preview will be available on Friday 3rd July on MUBI’s website, as well as through its iOS and Android apps, before it releases officially on MUBI from 4th July, when it will be available to rent on the platform and on other digital services.
Here’s a trailer: