Movie 1: Like Father, Like Son
1 LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (Japan, 2013)
Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda
Cast: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono...
When two families find out their sons have been switched at birth, they must choose which one to keep.
Like Father, Like Son won the Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
The strength of this film is that it asks a series of pertinent questions regarding parenthood and the importance of blood vs, education. What is it exactly that makes a child your child? Should a mother feel the difference when a child is not the one she gave birth to, despite the appearances?
From the perspective of a Western audience, Like Father, Like Son also offers insights on Japanese culture by following two families with radically different economic statuses. The affluent family is the one around which most of the plot is centered, and as a result we get a glimpse of Japanese education and working conditions for the privileged.
The performances are particularly praiseworthy. All the actors were convincing as members of the same two families, as well as of a different social class, with all the discomfort that ensues. I have to mention that the main little boy - Keita - is, as far as I know, one of the most adorable children in cinema history.
I feared a disappointing ending the whole time, but it turned out to be satisfying and moving.
4/5
Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda
Cast: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono...
When two families find out their sons have been switched at birth, they must choose which one to keep.
Like Father, Like Son won the Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
The strength of this film is that it asks a series of pertinent questions regarding parenthood and the importance of blood vs, education. What is it exactly that makes a child your child? Should a mother feel the difference when a child is not the one she gave birth to, despite the appearances?
From the perspective of a Western audience, Like Father, Like Son also offers insights on Japanese culture by following two families with radically different economic statuses. The affluent family is the one around which most of the plot is centered, and as a result we get a glimpse of Japanese education and working conditions for the privileged.
The performances are particularly praiseworthy. All the actors were convincing as members of the same two families, as well as of a different social class, with all the discomfort that ensues. I have to mention that the main little boy - Keita - is, as far as I know, one of the most adorable children in cinema history.
I feared a disappointing ending the whole time, but it turned out to be satisfying and moving.
4/5