by: Uel Ceballos
“Like Father Like Son” is a deeply
moving Japanese film that tells the stories of two different families whose
lives became interconnected through a single incident that happened way back. It took them six years to find out that their sons were exchanged
intentionally by an insecure nurse and now they are faced with a crucial
decision which they have to make as early as possible. Upon finding this out
they are threatened by the possible damages that can be incurred to the
children and to them, the parents; who are now quite torn about swapping the
children again or leaving everything as they are.
More than the consideration of the legal matters, the
Nonomiya and Saiki families are much more concerned about the best possible
decision that they could make for their children. Giving the children back to
their real parents isn’t the best action to do, though it’s considered to be the first main
solution. Nonomiya and Saiki are different in status and lifestyle, the first
one may be greater in financial capability, but the second one is far more capable in giving time for the family. While
Saiki Yudai, a storekeeper is able to give all the time in the world just to
play and bond with his sons, the facts can’t be denied that he needs to strive
harder to feed his big family. Nonomiya Ryota on the other hand, earns more
than enough as a hard-working architect but his time is often constrained
to works, leaving his wife and son often alone at their home. Ryota and Yudai are two different fathers who
both love their children to bits, but have different ways of raising them. Now they
are both caught into a situation that compels them to begin another new process of fatherhood to the real son that they have never been with for six long years.
Like Father Like Son is a richly
emotional film that ponder about the hardest but one of the most important job in the world -- parenthood. When do you really become a parent? Is it
by blood solely? Is the tie that is connecting the child to its parents mainly refers
to the blood relation? And when you found out that there’s really no connection
at all, would that make your parents-child relationship any less despite the
years that you’ve spent together? This film explores the parents-child
relationship to the extent of going beyond the blood and flesh border.
The children’s slow adaptation to their new home environment after six years of being with another family is definitely out of question. We can’t blame their innocent
mind from getting confused on why they are being sent by their parents to
another couple’s house – and on why they are finding it hard to grasp the idea
that the parents who raised them are not their real parents at all. But despite
the child’s tight grip to his old lifestyle (including the family he has grown
with), he still grows more and more alike to his parents, particularly to the physical aspects. This is both apparent to the two children – Keita and Ryuusei who grow with great resemblance to their real father -- proving only that one can never
deny where he has come from. However, Keita and Ryuusei have also acquired some traits from the man who has raised them, showing as well that loving the person you live with is all enough to grow more like him., maybe not in physical but in emotional and thinking aspects.
This film is undeniably beautiful
with its abundant depiction of love and family’s common struggles. “Like Father
Like Son” is a sweet and heart-warming expression of love that makes a
relationship without blood connection at all, grow way deeper than the one that has.
9 Espresso Shots for this Palm D'Or nominated film.
Salute to all the fathers out there! Cheers!
