Like Father, Like Son: Review

March 2014, The movie “Like Father, Like Son” (“Soshite chichi ni naru” original title) offers a glimpse into the mental struggles of families when they find that their children are not theirs. The film was written and directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. A partial listing of the cast:

                  Staring as
                   Masaharu Fukuyama     …       Ryota Nonomiya (father 1)
                   Machiko Ono                …       Midori Nonomiya (mother 1)
                   Keita Ninomiya             …        Keita Nonomiya (son 2)
                   Yôko Maki                   …        Yukari Saiki (mother 2)
                   Rirî Furankî                 …         Yudai Saiki (father 2)
                   Shôgen Hwang            …         Ryusei Saiki (son 1)

Ryota Ninomiya is a successful architect who works for a big firm. He surrounds himself with the trappings of material success; Lexus, a big condo, etc. but is an absent father. He leaves all caring and child raising functions to his wife Midori. Ryota is trying to make his alleged son, Keita, into a mirror of himself. Amid constant disappointments of his son’s lack of ambition and talent, he provides all the external wrapping of success to his son: music lesions, cram school for kindergarten, etc.

Suddenly, six years after birth, the hospital calls to tell him that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. A nurse switched babies to make other suffer, because she just went through a tough divorce and was stuck with the children.

The other family is the polar opposite of Nonomiya’s family. The father, Yudari Saiki, is a poor shopkeeper who would rather play with his children than work. The mother, Yukari Saiki, is quick to criticize, but is also a loving person. The switched boy is Ryusei. The family is poor, but knows how to live together and enjoy life.

This dichotomy illuminates the biology versus nurture debates and forces a life-changing decision for Ryota to choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own. His stepmother tried to raise the boys and provide a loving environment, but Ryota rejected her. With growing chagrin, he becomes aware of the value of a nurturing home and calls her to show some gratitude. His stepmother brushes him off, saying that it is always hard to replace a mother, so she just let it go.

Ryota’s boss tells him to start taking it easier and live a real life. This statement and the relative happiness in the Saiki family makes Ryota see that he is on the same path that his alcoholic, gambling father took, to make work and money everything. Slowly, he comes to realize that he must be a part of the family and not just the money provider.

The guilty nurse tries to make amends by giving him some money. He goes to return the money, and while facing the nurse, her son comes out. The son challenges Ryota and Ryota says that this has nothing to do with you. The son responds that it is does, because she is his mother. Ryota sees that family ties do matter and that children are attached to their parents in many ways.

In general the film was under lit, which made the it grainy at times. It appears that the director couldn’t figure out a good transition in a number of instances, so he just cut to black while the dialog and music continued. Overall, an entertaining piece of work.