Herzog Reveals That You Can Literally Choose Your Family, in 'Family Romance, LLC'
Romance is a business in Werner Herzog's latest, Family Romance, LLC.
Inspired by the phenomenon of renting actors to act as stand-ins during important events in the lives of their clients, the real-life Japanese company Family Romance has capitalized on a very niche market. "Family rentals" sound insane – because they are – but Herzog humanizes this need for connection and compassion. In one scenario, a single mother rents a father, played by Family Romance's founder Yuichi Ishii, to have an ongoing relationship with her preteen daughter Mahiro (Mahiro Tanimoto). Mahiro never met her real father, and this gives her the opportunity to feel a father's love, even if it's fabricated. The intention behind this rental is sweet, but things become more unsettling when actors are hired to play paparazzi for a wannabe social media influencer looking for fame, or a rail worker renting a stand-in to accept a reprimanding lecture by his boss. The whole thing is so bizarre but we can't look away.
A self-proclaimed return to "his filmmaking as a young man," Family Romance, LLC has the aesthetic and authenticity of a documentary, it shocked me to discover that this is actually scripted. Leaning towards mumblecore, even. We're not getting any classic Herzog narration here or spontaneous moments, although it may feel like it, this film is pure fiction (although the human for hire agency is, in fact, very real). This directorial approach creates what feels like a documentary/soap opera hybrid, bringing up a mixture of emotions that range from intrigue to uneasiness to fascination.
Family Romance is in the business of creating illusions to make their clients' lives better. However, those lines become blurred when real emotions start to develop, and "acting the part" starts becoming more harmful than helpful. By the end of the film, Herzog begs the question: How much is "fake" sometimes necessary for human survival?
Now streaming on MUBI.
'John Lewis: Good Trouble' Highlights a Congressman's Life of Fighting For Civil Rights
It's hard for me to understand why anyone would want to go into politics; the corruption, power trips, and inflated egos seem like enough frustration to turn any sane person away.
But seeing pictures of a 21-year-old Bernie Sanders protesting at a civil rights demonstration in 1963, and a young John Lewis – the subject of this film – marching with Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, reminds me that there are some people who get into politics for pure reasons: to fulfill a life-calling to ensure liberty and justice for all. Directed by Dawn Porter, John Lewis: Good Trouble is a fascinating documentary that acts as a highlight reel of the career of Democratic Congressman John Lewis.
You may know the 80-year-old civil rights activist from his fight to end voter suppression (or his viral "Happy" dance), but even if his name is unfamiliar, after watching this film, John Lewis is one name you'll never forget. John speaks to the camera as he recalls life-changing moments throughout his 60-year (and counting) political career. There are moments when he watches footage from the 1965 Selma march and his jaw drops – apparently, he has never seen some of these images before. It's a powerful moment made even stronger with original compositions from musician Tamar-kali. High ranking political players, including Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, discuss John's vital contributions to social activism and echo the sentiment that he's an effective leader because he's lived through harrowing racial injustice.
His dedication to fighting a cause bigger than himself is inspirational, especially at this very moment. Keep protesting, don't be afraid to get into a little "good trouble," and most importantly, register to vote.
Help Register Voters In Areas With Voter Suppression:
Magnolia Pictures and Participant will release John Lewis: Good Trouble on-demand this Friday, July 3.
Maya Korn Shares Her Tips For Success as an Independent Producer
A UK/German native, Maya Korn has produced in Beijing, New York, Mexico City, and London. Prior to this, she moonlighted in marketing (The Weinstein Company; BBC and Film Society of Lincoln Center) before landing in the female content space (Refinery 29 & Maven Pictures). She is a Columbia University Creative Producing MFA Graduate ’19 & WIF Creative Producing Mentorship Program ‘20. Through her company, MHK Productions, she focuses on uncovering stories in the genre space that give a voice to minorities and highlight political issues.
What/Who inspires you, both professionally and personally?
For "the what" professionally, I’m inspired by great storytelling.
Personally, I’m super inspired by 80s goth/punk counter-culture aesthetic. I love the photos from that time and haunting music.
For "the who" professionally, I’m very inspired by producer Christine Vachon. Her first company was a scrappy non-profit inspired by the anti-Hollywood New York scene and her next, Killer Films, made my all-time favourite movies (Kids, Party Monster, Boys Don’t Cry). Her projects are queer, feminist, say something, and she is known for being uncompromising in protecting the director’s vision. Christine’s work has had a huge influence on my taste and approach (her book Shooting to Kill is under my pillow), sharpening skills I learned in the immersive theater.
For "the who" personally, I’m really inspired by the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden. I was lucky enough to see her speak once and she’s such a powerhouse. I hope she’ll inspire more women to go into politics all over the world.
Director or studio you'd love to work with?
I would LOVE to work with Floria Sigismondi. Her ethereal music videos for Marilyn Manson and Björk had a deep effect on teenage Maya. I have always been attracted to macabre stories and I’m sure digesting Floria’s work is why.
Floria has evolved, directing The Handmaid’s Tale, The Runaways movie; fashion, and branded content videos while maintaining a photographic career. I’d love to work with a creative multivalent like her.
Studio wise, it’s not exactly a studio but I’d love to work with A24. They represent the new generation of storytelling I just adore. I’m sure every bright-eyed filmmaker says that though.
Can you describe your first experience in the industry?
My first experience in the industry was when, at 16, my high school told me I had to do a ‘work placement’. I already knew I wanted to be in film, just not in what capacity. After some begging emails, I somehow landed at Richard Curtis’s incredible company Working Title as a runner, one of the biggest and brightest in the UK. I remember running around Soho delivering things for Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley which was their big upcoming release. I thought this was so cool and had no idea what I was doing.
Three takeaway lessons for aspiring independent producers?
Perseverance! It takes time and a bit of luck to build your network and skillset. It took me 10 years to go it on my own fully.
Become a "Yes" person! Get involved, say yes to random job opportunities and, if you can afford it, some free work. It’s important to understand what good and bad sets feel like as you’ll probably end up putting them together and what different people do. As well as building your network.
Read everything! Our business is storytelling so you should be up on books, new scripts, articles, epic poems, anything with interesting IP.
Who you know vs What you know are both important for success in this industry. In your experience, have you seen one outweigh the other? And, how important is getting a degree in the field of work you're in?
I think it’s a balance of both. If you’re super connected but don’t know how to do the job you say you do, word will spread and people won’t want to work with you. I’m not really a ‘fake it till you make it’ kinda gal. If it’s my first time producing something, like a branded content piece, I would ask people I know who’ve produced that before to give me the rundown on what to expect and how it’s different from film.
I don’t think having a film degree is the be-all and all, most people in the UK learn on set. For me, my Creative Producing MFA at Columbia was an invaluable resource that transformed me from a cinephile to someone who knew technically what she was doing. Also, the alumni network is incredible. You always bump into alums at festivals and share a kindred spirit as you were in the trenches together. Film degrees are highly expensive and a privilege though and there are so many great resources and panels [outside the school system]. Check out No Film School, NY Women Filmmakers, Shooting People, WIFT, Etheria (for women in horror), Film Independent, IFP, NALIP (for Latin Filmmakers), and many more.
Have you been working while in quarantine? If so, what's been a normal day in your life?
I’ve not exactly been working in quarantine, I guess it depends on how you define working, is it for pay for example. My day incorporates a lot more self-care and hobbies than it used too. I wake up, meditate with the Calm App, and pull a tarot card to see how my day is looking. Then I check my emails, I have some shorts doing the festival circuit so there may be some admin to do with that. I’m also researching and giving notes on a couple of features I have in development and I may watch a Zoom panel related to how the industry is coping with COVID-19.
Then the other half of my day is doing on an online class usually to do with witchcraft- I’ve been getting very into my witch practice in quarantine or reading a book, a luxury I didn’t have before since I was reading endless scripts. Then I may do a Zoom happy hour with friends I haven’t seen and finish my night watching an alien movie which relates to research for the feminist alien feature we have in early development.
There aren’t really guidelines on how to resume a short film or micro-budget feature production safely. I’ve seen some for projects over a million dollars and heard about 3 person crew docs, music videos, and branded content shoots, so my work is basically in limbo for now.
Any new projects on the horizon?
Most likely nothing till next year when we have disease-safe shooting guidelines! I have, as I mentioned, this micro-budget feminist alien movie in development that we’d love to shoot next year in New Mexico with fab director Vivienne Vaughn; a short called Becoming (dir. Alexandra Velasco) that looks at inequality and class struggle in the Mexican American community after a privileged young boy mistakenly kills his nanny; a double identity ghost story that will be shot between Virginia and Morocco (dir. Yossera Bouchtia); an anthology feature based around phobias, the brainchild of director Sydney Brafman called Tiny Terrors; a mad horror musical; a Fox Digital Halloween short; a top-secret multi-million dollar feature and so many more!
'Shoplifters' Director is Back With His Next Dysfunctional Family Film, 'The Truth'
After receiving critical acclaim for his Palme d'Or-winning feature Shoplifters at Cannes in 2018, director Hirokazu Kore-eda is back with another mesmerizing tale of emotionally turbulent familial dysfunction, in The Truth (La Vérité).
This time, we're transported to Paris and into the mansion of the famed Parisian actress Fabienne Dangeville (Catherine Deneuve), a self-absorbed, aging icon who is unwilling to accept responsibility for questionable choices she has made throughout her life. These choices are purposefully omitted from her new memoir, which frustrates her daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche), who flew with her husband (Ethan Hawke) and daughter from New York to celebrate the book's release. Although resistant to engage with Lumir's questioning, Fabienne is eventually forced to confront the white lies she's told herself throughout her life in order to deal with certain unbearable truths
Aware that her career is beginning to wind down, Fabienne's first line of defense is to belittle others to feel superior. Her entitlement is apparent on the set of her latest film, which also acts as a vehicle that allows her to work through her past. Her obvious jealousy towards her much younger co-star is petty, and also terribly sad. Fabienne is terrified of being considered "washed up," and while she acts tough on the exterior, she's really just overcompensating for a bruised ego and shrinking confidence. Lumir's presence brings out Fabienne's moody side, but it's ultimately the catalyst that was needed for true self-reflection.
Expertly crafted by Hirokazu Kore-eda, The Truth is a sensitively told story that never villainizes Fabienne, even when a case can be made against her terribly selfish ways. There is a warmth that radiates from the actors, all of whom offer sensational performances. Legendary Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche play against each other perfectly, and Ethan Hawke is a fantastic supporting character. Once again, Hirokazu Kore-eda shows that family dysfunction is normal and can be sorted out if the bonds that tie them together come from a loving place.
IFC Films is releasing The Truth (La Vérité) on VOD this Friday, July 3rd.
'Suzi Q' Review: All Hail Suzi Quatro, the Overlooked Queen of Rock & Roll
"Drawn to the Light" is for Fans of Sigur Rós–and We've Got The Exclusive Track Premiere
These days, it seems as if we're paddling upstream a river of uncertainty, doing our best doggy-paddle to stay afloat (or maybe that's just me).
The relentlessness can feel overwhelming, but it's in these moments when a song can become more than just a few chords strung together; a simple song has the power to transform into an emotionally-charged life raft that gets us through tough times. LA-based composer Jeff Cardoni (The Kominsky Method, Silicon Valley) has just released one such life raft with "Drawn to the Light," the first track off of his upcoming EP Nuovo Futuro, which will be available for purchase and streaming on July 24th.
“I wanted to write a piece of music that would guide the listener away from the cacophony and chaos of our current world,” says Cardoni, describing his inspiration behind the new single. “I believe music can unite the human condition in the darkest times and lift the spirit towards better times ahead.”
"Drawn to the Light" is a minimalist's dream, comprised of only electric guitars and a string quintet – two violas, two celli, and upright bass – playing in a lower tonality. The slow build throughout the 3-minute song is as delicate as it is beautiful. If you're drawn to the mysticism of Sigur Rós (my Icelandic dream band), Explosions In The Sky, or Max Richter, you'll find warmth in Cardoni's similar sound.
If "Drawn to the Light" is any indication, then Nuovo Futuro will have a "less is more" purity to it. Sometimes the most beautiful things are the simplest.
'Disclosure' Review: Discussing Harmful Trans Depictions in Media
According to a GLAAD survey, about 80% of Americans don't know a trans person. Even more unfortunate, most of their knowledge about the trans community comes from the media (aka not the best for unbiased portrayals). Mrs. Doubtfire, The Silence of the Lambs, Yentel, Dallas Buyers Club, and Boys Don't Cry are just a handful of the divisive films discussed in the Netflix documentary Disclosure, an urgent showing of the problematic representation of trans people on-screen.
Interviews with Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Lilly Wachowski (dir. The Matrix), Yance Ford (dir. Strong Island), Mj Rodriguez (Pose, Rent), Jamie Clayton (Sense8), and Chaz Bono (writer, musician, actor) all shed light on how they navigated their specific journey through Hollywood. Growing up, many expressed their feelings of being torn between hopefulness when seeing a trans character on-screen and fear when said trans character is met with disgust, visceral reactions, and abuse. Recalling painful moments in the industry, they express that the sensitivity of laughing "with" these characters vs laughing "at" them is a very thin line. It's telling that despite the film industry existing for well over 100 years, one of the only positive reinforcements of a trans depiction onscreen is in the 1957 Bugs Bunny episode "What's Opera, Doc." A cartoon got it right in the '50s.
When "being invisible" is considered "a privilege," as many expressed in the documentary, that's a sign that things need to change. Since D.W. Griffith's Judith of Bethulia (1914), Hollywood has been guilty of perpetuating the transgender victim narrative for too long – and we haven't even talked about the self-gratifying shoo-in Oscar or Golden Globe nominations cis men receive for playing trans roles (ahem Jared Leto, Eddie Redmayne, Jeffrey Tambor). In order for social change, we need a fair representation of trans people on screen so we can make a difference off-screen, and with social justice and equality at the forefront of everyone's minds, Disclosure should be considered essential viewing.
Disclosure is available on Netflix this Friday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysbX6JUlaEc
'Babyteeth' Shows When Your Life is Ending, You're Free to Fall in Love With Your Local Drug Dealer
Eliza Scanlen plays a terminally sick teenager who, after accepting that her future has an unfair expiration date, decides to live out one of her last days with her family at the beach.
No, this isn't Greta Gerwig's Little Women (where Scanlen has found herself in this exact scenario before). This is a tender moment from director Shannon Murphy's quirky dramedy, Babyteeth.
This Australian-set, coming-of-age story centers around Milla (Scanlen), a single child to her self-medicating mother (Essie Davis) and therapist father (Ben Mendelsohn). After discovering that her cancer has returned, Milla embraces the You Only Live Once lifestyle by opening up and letting herself fall in love with the town's local drug dealer, Moses (Toby Wallace). His tough-guy exterior doesn't deter Milla from finding the softy inside, and together, Milla and Moses bring out the bold and beautiful in each other.
Babyteeth has an interesting editing cadence to it, reminiscent of a Greek Weird Wave dark comedy. It took me almost forty-five minutes to finally settle into the story, but once I did, I was hooked. The film is an exciting feature-length directorial debut from Shannon Murphy, assisted by strong performances from Ben Mendelsohn and Scanlen, who I hope is able to play a healthy leading lady soon!
The independent arthouse theatre, Arena Cinelounge, will be the first physical movie theater to open in Los Angeles and screen Babyteeth this Friday, June 19th. The film will also stream on VOD.