Tel père, tel fils

Hirokazu Koreeda's Like Father, Like Son is a very emotional movie. One that made me feel for its characters. The film is full of great performances, an interesting soundtrack, and a plot that is easy to understand.

Set in Japan Like Father, Like Son tells the story of Ryota Nonomiya, a successful businessman, who is driven by money more than anything else. Ryota is married to Midori, and has a son named Keita. When Ryota and Midori visit the hospital after receiving a call from them, they learn that Keita is not their biological son. Ryota is forced to choose between keeping the child, or doing the right thing and giving him back to his biological parents. Things are especially complicated for Ryota as Midori is still devoted to Keita, even after learning his true origins.

Like Father, Like Son is a very touching film. It is helped by the performances of the actors. Masaharu Fukuyama gives a very "tame" performance as Ryota. When he learns that his son is not his real child, he doesn't explode. Instead, he keeps his cool, and tries to make the best of it. His performances are especially helped by the script, as on only a few occasions it seems to require him to be truly "emotional". Maciko Ono, who plays his wife, Midori, also gives a very strong performance. Unlike most mothers, she doesn't break down at once after learning that her son isn't actually her biological son. Instead, she considers the possibilities of what might happen to him. These actors along with the rest of the cast are helped by writer and director, Hirokazu Koreeda's script, which is very strong.

One of the most fascinating elements about Like Father, Like Son is that this film is mostly devoid of any real soundtrack. The only bit of music throughout the film is that of a piano. The use of a piano in the film is clearly an attempt to make some of the most emotional scenes in the film, really emotional. Their son, Keita, played piano, and there is even a scene where he does a piano recital. The constant use of piano music is clearly supposed to link the relationship between the mother and father and their "son". For example, one fifteen second scene features Ryota and Midori driving to go see Keita. In this scene, there is no talking, just a shot of the car outside and piano music playing in the background. The piano music feels very haunting in this way, and as a result, the scene becomes emotional.

Although I have had minimal exposure to Japanese culture, I can clearly see that these two characters are real, and not stereotypes of Japanese people. Ryota, for example, clearly goes through a change in character, as he becomes less concerned with money and more concerned about his son. There is real emotion and charm to be found in this movie, and the way director Koreeda guides the family, helps a lot. Like Father, Like Son is a wonderful film, and one that many can relate to.

Everyone has an opinion about what constitutes good parenting. Does it boil down to rules and regulations, pushing a child to excel, letting them just enjoy themselves, or the amount of time you spend with them? These issues are on the table in Hirokazu Koreeda's latest child-centered film, Like Father, Like Son, winner of the Jury Prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival. Ryoto Nonomiya (Masaharu Fukuyama) is a somewhat aloof architect who works long hours at his job, leaving little time for his six-year-old son Keita (Keita Ninomiya). Ryoto and his wife Midori (Machiko Ono) live in a luxury Tokyo apartment that relatives tell them looks like a hotel.

Keita is comfortable and apparently quite happy, enjoying a close and caring relationship with his mother, even though his father is not always around. Ryoto loves Keita, however, and wants the best for him, pushing him to excel in academics and music, but his character is painted in such broad strokes that he doesn't come across as truly caring. The family's comfortable world is turned upside down, however, when the Nonomiya's receive a phone call from the hospital telling them that Keita is in fact not their biological son, that testing has revealed that two boys were switched at birth, presumably by accident.

Both curious and anxious, Ryoto and Midori make plans to visit their biological son and here Koreeda draws a sharp contrast between the two families. Yudai (Lily Franky), a good-natured, playful storekeeper and his wife Yukari (Yoko Maki), are working class people, living in the rear of a general goods store with their three children, a boy named Ryusei (Shogen Hwang), and his younger brother and sister. Although tongue in cheek, Yudai tells his wife that his philosophy of life is "I always say, put off to tomorrow, what ever you can." When the mistake of the hospital is realized, the shocked families must decide how (and if) they are going to exchange sons.

The upper class Ryoto says that it "now makes sense" why his son Keita is not talented and ambitious like himself, a statement that is very hurtful to Midori. His desire is to continue the bloodline, urged also by his own father who suggests that he should make every effort to raise both boys. While this may sound good in theory, when Ryoto raises the possibility with Yudai and Yukari, the reaction is one of deep insult and Ryoto has to go to Plan B. While awaiting a financial settlement from the hospital, the two families agree to let the boys come for a visit to gradually get to know their real parents, at first for one day, then later on the weekends.

Awkwardly, Ryoto tells Ryu to call them father and mother, reserving daddy and mommy for Yudai and Yukari, the only parents he has truly known. Friction begins to develop between the parents when Yudai let's Ryoto know that he should spend more time with his son. Though both children adjust, Ryu expresses a longing to return to daddy and mommy. Ryoto wants the exchange of children to work out but Midori misses Keita and reacts with anger when she perceives that her husband blames her for what has happened. The exchange of the boys becomes a catalyst for Ryoto to look at his life and see what has been missing in his approach to parenting and he has the courage to make changes.

Like Father, Like Son is a riveting experience that once again demonstrates that the performances Koreeda can elicit from children are little short of amazing. Like Father, Like Son can meander, has some formulaic aspects, and does not have the weight of some of his earlier films, yet it is an entertaining, thought-provoking, and beautifully realized two hours at the movies.

There are worse nightmares for parents but this one is pretty bad, to find out that your 6-year-old son is biologically not your own, that he was switched at birth with another baby. In telling this story about the dilemma the two sets of parents find themselves facing, Kore-eda touches on nature vs. nurture, parenting styles, and class differences. The rich father seems ice cold emotionally, and it's telling that his first thought is that he'll pay the other man and take both kids. We learn that he is the way he is for a reason as the story spans three generations, though it would have been even better if we had gotten a little more backstory on the mothers. As in all of Kore-eda's films, there is a gentleness here, but it's perhaps too gentle, since painful situations like this often seem to bring out more trauma than amicability. There are lots of adorable moments with the kids though, and the film's central message is so sweet - spend time with your kids, love them for who they are, and be as good or better than your own father was.

Two families learn the devastating news that their sons were swapped in the maternity hospital, and each has been raising the other's biological offspring for the last six years. In trying to solve this unholy mess, one father has to face his own vulnerabilities.

Koreda has one again taken his scalpel to family life and crafted a masterpiece. Fukuyama as the driven, high-achieving Ryota is a revelation, an advocate of the tough love school of child-rearing, who never wastes an opportunity to tell his son he should be trying harder, succeeding more. One word - 'yappari' - reveals his disappointment and ultimate lack of humanity, and proves to be a pivotal statement in his journey to self-awareness.

Two archetypal elements of on-form Koreeda make this move a masterclass in dramaturgy. One is the sparkling, naturalistic performances from the children. When Ryota tries to explain to his biological son that he now should be addressing him as 'father', the stubborn, implacable resistance of the young actor is deftly played. There is a similar moment when Ryota confronts his tormentor, only for her young son to appear and remind Ryota of the kind of son he should have been himself. The other element is judicious deployment of point-of-view. Four parents go through this traumatic experience, but while the gravity of the situation for the other three parents is never in doubt, the journey we experience is Ryota's. He learns not only to love, but to accept, and even, in one phone call to his stepmother, to repent. Rirî Furankî is exceptional as electrician handyman Yudai. At first he seems more concerned with financial gain than natural justice, but slowly proves himself to be the better father. The fact that he is never shown suffering over the loss of his own biological son, and yet seems imbued with the humanity Ryota lacks, is testament to Furanki's performance and Koreeada' scripting and helming. Machiko Ono and Yôko Maki as the two wives who support each other are equally impressive.

The situation portrayed is every parent's nightmare, and the film succeeds in conveying that, while also mining a deep vein of humanity and compassion, and even managing a few comic flourishes. Superb.

'Like Father, Like Son' is the latest film from Hirokazu Koreeda that won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Like 'Nobody Knows' and 'I Wish', Koreeda's previous films, it deals with family conflicts and children. A successful businessman discovers that the boy he has been raising for 6 years is actually not his son, as his son was switched with another child after birth. Now he needs to choose between his biological child and the child he has raised…

The actors in this film are great, not only Masaharu Fukuyama as father but also the young actors who play Keita and Ryusei. Koreeda always works well with kids. Keita is so adorable. The film handles the conflict very realistically and well reflects how the way of upbringing have influence on the children. It is quite emotional at the end of the film, so be prepared you may shed some tears.