Family Romance, LLC 2019

Yuichi Ishii is the operator of Family Romance, a unique rental family service that specializes in providing people to fill various social roles such as husbands, friends, or family members. The service aims to help clients navigate life’s difficulties by offering realistic companionship, even if that companionship is deeply artificial. The film begins by showing Yuichi fulfilling a contract as a father for Mahiro, a 12-year-old girl who has no memories of her own father. Initially, Mahiro appears shy and unsure of Yuichi, but over time, she begins to warm up to him and starts to trust him more as he invests genuine care into their interactions.

As Yuichi spends more time with Mahiro, her mother becomes increasingly concerned about her daughter’s feelings and asks Yuichi to share what Mahiro is thinking and saying. As their bond deepens, Yuichi starts to become protective of Mahiro’s secrets and begins to advocate for giving her more freedom and autonomy. Throughout his daily work, Yuichi continues to accept different assignments and fulfills his contracts with a non-judgmental attitude, maintaining the delicate balance between reality and illusion without letting his personal feelings interfere.

The film also explores Yuichi’s inner world as he contemplates the nature of truth, appearance, and authenticity. After visiting a futuristic hotel staffed entirely by robots, Yuichi is struck by the artificiality surrounding him, which sparks contemplations about whether the emotions people display are real or merely performances. He confides in a friend about disturbing dreams involving actors who portray samurai performing ritual suicide, adding to the film’s overarching themes of life, death, and performative identity.

An important scene occurs when Yuichi joins Mahiro’s mother on a trip to visit an oracle, during which Mahiro’s mother mentions that she’s happy to have Yuichi as a friend. This casual remark makes Yuichi uncomfortable, prompting him to reflect on the boundaries of their relationship. Later, he visits a funeral home and inquires about the possibility of using actors in coffins, which further highlights his fascination with mortality and the theatrical aspects of life.

The relationship between Yuichi and Mahiro reaches a turning point when she confesses her love for him and expresses a desire to spend weekends together as father and daughter. Recognizing the emotional weight of this bond, Yuichi regretfully tells her that their contract must end because it has become too serious. Mahiro’s mother offers him the chance to live with them permanently, but Yuichi politely declines, apologizing once more. He suggests that she might consider renting a funeral for the imaginary father, emphasizing the film’s meditation on constructed identities and emotional facades.

In a final, reflective act, Yuichi visits a friend who reassures him that the services provided by Family Romance have genuine value and purpose. Yet, Yuichi remains unconvinced and inwardly questions whether his own family members have been actors, faking their emotions for him. The story concludes with Yuichi returning to his home, where he hears voices inside and sees small children’s hands pressing against frosted glass on the door. He quickly hides in silence, overwhelmed by the sense that everything around him might also be part of the performance, ending the film on a note of ambiguous reality and profound introspection.