Films that tackle real-life issues are often those that seem to
connect to the audience much easier than, per say, a science fiction
epic or an action-adventure. This often is the case due to the strength
and relation with the featured characters that the audience find, and
none more-so than with Hirokazu Koreeda's latest film, the powerful and emotionally driven Like Father, Like Son.
Work-driven architect Ryota (Masharu Fukushima) lives with his wife Midori (Machika Ono)
and their six-year-old son Keita in a posh and pristine apartment and
live a seemingly structural life. Ryota dedicates his life to work as
the breadwinner of the family, while Midori works in a shop and tends to
their child and maintains the homestead. Ryota has strong beliefs that
his son be independent, even at his young age, ensuring he plays the
piano each day and keeps that same structure applied to the young boy.
When
they are summoned to the hospital, a revelation is announced as the
parents discover that their child was actually swapped at birth with
another, meaning Keita is not their child. Instead, a child named Ryusei
is their own blood; his family at current being a mother, father, a
brother and a sister. The polar opposite of Ryota, Ryusei's father is a
happy-go-lucky man who invests his time with his children, often playing
in ball pens with them, sharing baths and generally enjoying their
company whenever he can.
As it becomes apparent that the children
can be swapped back, an emotional situation boils up and the families
must decide what action to take while the children are still young.
Japanese
films have a special bond with the subject of family, and Like Father,
Like Son is no different. Koreeda, who has gone on record to say just
how personal this film is to him, presents a feature that sparks an
instant connection with the audience in the way it is presented.
Exploring what it means to be a parent and just how different some
parents' approaches to their children vary, it is a fantastic study of
humanity and our emotions.
What is most impressive is how the
director creates a dynamic between the two involved families thrust into
this unique and shocking situation. On one side the unbelievably
exceptional Masahura Fukushima, whose parenting skills seem to be
lacking, while the other father in the equation representing what a
father figure should be about. While the men differ in opinions at to
what should be done to solve their issue, the women of the story seem to
be those who agree and have to be the problem solvers.
The gulf
in characterisation is what provides the most interest in the film
without a doubt, and this drives the emotional connection that is
present throughout. From Ryota, with his hotel-like apartment and love
for work, we instantly see he is the most troubled father, while our
second father is the one whom instantly we feel a love and warmth
towards. As the story drives on, we get a sense of how each is taking
the news and, of course, the difficulty the children themselves are
having with this awkward discovery.
The child performers
themselves are also to be highly praised. They are the ones who duel
with the dramatic side of things, often throwing in the more
light-hearted moments of the film, but not without adding their own
slice of heartiness. Such is the strength of the cast, that Like Father,
Like Son breaks the boundaries of age and gives you a truly honest and
heartfelt scenario that all can reach out to.
A stunning and
impressive drama from director Hirokazu Koreeda, Like Father, Like Son
is a breathtaking family-based Japanese offering with plenty of heart
and grand performances, particularly from Masahura Fukushima. It weaves a
web of intrigue for the audience and never breaks that connection,
culminating in one of the best foreign entries of the year and one to
savour long after the credits appear.
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