Like Father, Like Son

Like Father, Like Son – a review by Kayla Sklar

There are many stories that deal with tumultuous father-son relationships. There are also many stories about children being switched at birth, or growing up with the wrong family (The Milk Carton Kid trilogy comes to mind). It was then easy for me to write off the film Like Father, Like Son (written, directed, and edited by Kore-eda Hirokazu) as being cliché before I even sat down in the theater. Kore-eda, however, avoid this fate by simply focusing on the core relationships between and within the two families, without any gimmicks or flashiness.

The movie first introduces the audience to Ryota Nonomiya, a very successful and driven businessman who spends far more time at work than at home with his wife, Midori, and his six year-old son, Keita. Ryota finds out that the hospital accidentally switched his son with another newborn born on the same day, and that his actually biological son is living with a family in the middle-class suburbs of Tokyo. Yudai and Yukari Saiki are a completely different type of family – they and their three kids live in a tiny apartment connected to the father's hardware store, and Yudai is a total jokester with hardly any disciplinary skills. The movie centers on these two families getting to know each other, and the eventual switching back of the sons to their birth families.

As this is a story about the strength of bonds – between parents and children, between husbands and wives – it's no wonder that the strength of the film lies in the character development. This can be attributed to the wonderfully elegant script and the touching performances given by all of the actors – even the two young children. Machiko Ono exudes warmth and serenity as Midori, which makes her outbursts of anguish all the more painful.

Lily Franky's first scenes as Yudai show him as a man of fun and games – he horses around with the children in the restaurant play-pen, he squirts water out of his mouth in the bathtub, he lets his kids run free in the streets as he works. As far as youthful energy is concerned, Franky keeps up completely with the children, despite his age (the actor is nearly 50). What makes this performance so brilliant, however, is his effortless transition from child-like exuberance to steadfast resolution. “Maybe I'm the better father,” he quietly tells Ryota, all traces of lightheartedness gone from his voice.

Of course, the story would not be successful if we didn't care about the fates of the two children. Had Keita and Ryusei been played by other children, the performances could have been hollow and unmoving. Luckily, both Keita Ninomiya and Hwang Sho-gen are incredible actors despite their young age. Ryusei in particular has a touching scene in which he apologizes to the Nonomiya's for wanting to go back home.

And lest I forget the incredible performance of the protagonist, Ryota, played by Mashaharu Fukuyama. A strict and stoic man, you feel immense pity not just for him, but for Midori and Keita who are constantly neglected by him. As he struggles with his identity as a father, the turning point for Ryota is also the emotional climax of the film. While Ryusei and Midori are sleeping, Ryota reviews the photos on his expensive digital camera. The first pictures he views are the recent ones he's taken of a smiling Ryusei. Then, a group photo of the two families taken right before the trade-off. Then, the last photo he ever took of Keita. As one son is replaced with another in his camera's memory, so too is a son replaced in his own memory. He begins to openly weep, finally grieving for the loss of his child – the child who, while not blood related, still is his. It's a beautiful scene, and more importantly, changes the course of the narrative.

The ending is open to interpretation, which I appreciate. Ryota, Midori, and Ryusei visit the Saikis, and the two children are reunited with their parents – or at least the parents that raised them. It is unclear whether or not the children are switched back, or whether some sort of visitation agreement is reached, or whether this is a one time fix for both families. However, none of that really matters in the grand scheme of things.While ambiguous endings usually frustrate me (I like my stories to be completely resolved, thank you very much), what matters is that both families, for at least a few hours, feel completely whole again. And for a few hours last evening, so did I.

Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu; Written by Kore-eda Hirokazu (Originally titled “Soshite Chichi Ni Naru”, or “And I Will Be Your Father”); Set Design by Akiko Matsuba; Produced by Chihiro Kameyama, Tatsuro Hatanaka, Tom Yoda. In Japanese, with English subtitles. Running time: 121 minutes.

WITH: Mashaharu Fukuyama (Ryota Nonomiya), Machiko Ono (Midori Nonomiya), Lily Franky (Yudai Saiki), Yoko Mari (Yukari Saiki), Keita Ninomiya (Keita), and Hwang Sho-gen (Ryusei).