Like Father Like Son

Like Father Like Son

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yoko Maki, Lily Franky, Arata Iura Runtime: 119 minutes

What do you do when the child you have looked after for the last 6 years turns out to be someone else’s? This is the question faced by Ryōta Nonomiya (Masaharu Fukuyama) in the prize-winning Japanese feature Like Father, Like Son, which explores issues of family, blood ties, and class dynamics in modern day Japan. Ryōta is a straight laced architect; a star-achiever, who is ruthlessly competitive, pushing his son Keita through cram school, piano lessons, and private schooling in an effort to make him more like his old man. Slightly despairing of his wife Midori (Machiko Ono), who has a tendency to indulge their son, he nevertheless makes up part of a stable, albeit cold, family unit - until they get a phone call from their local hospital, and their world changes. It is revealed that Keita is not really their son; he was swapped with another child at birth, who is now living with a more bohemian family. Both families are now faced with a choice: do they exchange the children? Is the genetic link worth more than the six years of energy and affection each family has placed in their child? While this subject sounds a bit like a Channel 4 documentary, or else some kind of awful Western goofball comedy (watch this space for the inevitable Hollywood remake), director Hirokazu Koreeda weaves it into a complex, rich, and ultimately rewarding family drama. Filmed in a series of long, languid shots, accompanied with a barely-there piano score, Koreeda allows the natural tension between the two families shine through effortlessly. Ryōta forms the obvious villain of the piece - a work-obsessed family man who neglects his wife and child; he is so used to winning at everything that at one point he asks how much the other family would be willing to accept to let him raise both of the children, letting his money do the talking. Snobbery is a large part of Ryōta’s character, and plays a central role in driving forward the story, but ultimately, Ryōta is a sympathetic character, burdened with troubles of his own, and enough daddy issues to give Freud a field day. Over the course of the film, thanks largely to a restrained performance by Fukuyama, we see the character learn to appreciate his family while he still has time. While this moral outcome may seem cliche, the perfect pace at which the film moves makes the transition seem completely natural. While child actors can often make or break a film, Koreeda has taken a calculated risk that ultimately paid off, resulting in believable performances from the two 6 year olds, who can only look on as their parents argue and they are passed from house to house like tennis balls. The camerawork allows the audience to become an observer embedded within the centre of each family, observing not only their different dynamics - modern, cold, professional Vs relaxed, friendly, ramshackle - but also the subtle features that make the characters seem like more than 2D cutouts. One feature in particular that stands out is the performance from Machiko Ono, who plays the long suffering Midori with a grace and charm that makes her a magnetic presence on the screen. Ono imbues her character with pathos; subtle changes in her facial expression revealing what lies between the surface of her perfect life of domesticity. In one scene she tries to make small talk with her ‘new son’, but finds herself at a loss for words; suddenly trapped within the hotel-like home she has helped to create, she becomes a prisoner in her own house, guarded by a child she doesn’t really know, and a husband who insists that blood will rule out. However, despite all its excellent features, it feels like something is lacking. Like Father, Like Son is supposed to be a story about two separate families who are forced to come together, and yet for a majority of the film the action is centred upon the uptight Ryōta. We follow his personal journey, and explore how the changes have affected him, but the other father gets little more than a supporting role. The other family is largely glossed over, in favour of the man who clearly needs to spend a little bit more time with his kid. It seems that the story would be even more rewarding if we could explore it from all aspects, as opposed from a single angle. Nevertheless, Koreeda has followed hot on the heels of last year’s wonderful I Wish with another exceptional family drama that manages to tug at the heartstrings without ever seeming overwrought; Like Father, Like Son, manages to paint a portrait of modern Japanese life in small, subtle brushstrokes. A sharply crafted, beautiful film, magnificence in miniature