“Rental Family” poses some timely questions about the value of meaningful, face-to-face connection in a world where screen time, the power of conformity and loneliness reign supreme. How far is too far when the lines of real and fake are blurred? What if the pretense becomes the reality?

As one character reminds us, “Sometimes we just need someone to look us in the eye and remind us we exist.”

Hence the concept of the Rental Family, which isn’t just the name of the film; its the name of the business the film is based on. And, it’s a real thing: In Japan, there are services that hire actors to portray friends, family members or colleagues to help with any and every social situation you can imagine. Maybe you need a stand-in groom or a father for parents night. Or maybe it’s as simple as s

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