LIKE FATHER LIKE SON STRUGGLE TRIAL
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON STRUGGLE TV

Asian sales: Gaga, Tokyo.) Produced by Chihiro Kameyama, Tatsuro Hatanaka, Tom Yoda. (Japan) A Gaga (in Japan)/Le Pact (in France) release of a Fuji Television Network, Amuse, Gaga presentation of a Film Inc. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (competing), May 17, 2013. Other tech credits are polished the Japanese title means Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™Then, One Becomes a Father.Р Р†Р вЂљРЎСљР вЂќР’В¬annes Film Review: Р Р†Р вЂљР’ВLike Father, Like SonР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ Mikiya TakimotoР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs crisp lensing and beguilingly simple camera setups are complemented by the use of BachР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs Goldberg Variations to evoke a range of moods, from contemplative to light-hearted to somber. While the mannerisms of artist-writer-thesp Franky work in fitting counterpart to FukushimaР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs studied perf, the two female leads display less range, and will be considered overly passive characters by Western auds. A conversation between Ryota and Yudai poses the filmР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs central question: Is parenthood defined by blood, or by the time that parent and child spend together? The ending offers an answer at once ambiguous and strangely reassuring.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON STRUGGLE TV

Singer-songwriter-thesp Fukuyama carefully tweaks his cocky intellectual persona as seen in the popular TV drama Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™GalileoР Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ and its film version, Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™Suspect X.Р Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ Though Ryota is initially drawn as arrogant and entitled, his workaholic habits are considered the norm in Japan, as many fathers less successful than Ryota must conform to corporate culture against their wishes. A nuanced scene in which he visits his father and stepmother, and an encounter with the nurse responsible for the swap, reveal his own childhood hangups and a poignant explanation for his adult behavior. In typical Kore-eda fashion, it takes an accretion of small incidents, rather than any melodramatic confrontation, for Ryota to realize where his genuine affections lie. Although the Saikis may occupy a slightly idealized portrait of a working-class household, the mannered, disciplined existence Nonomiya tries to impose on his family is clearly a veneer for his underlying vulnerability. Ryota initially tries to buy off the penny-pinching Saikis so he can keep both Keita and Ryusei, but when this plan backfires, he starts heeding the counsel of his father (Isao Natsuyagi), which is that the bloodline counts more. Similarly, Kore-eda doesnР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћt accentuate the boysР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ differences so much as show how quickly children adapt to their surroundings, as seen in some marvelously sweet scenes in which the timid, well-behaved Keita blends in with his carefree Saiki siblings and bonds with his affectionate, playful biological father, Yudai, to RyotaР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs mild chagrin. But rather than aiming for ChatillezР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs savage social satire, the class differences here are merely a natural extension of the two couplesР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ respectively uptight and easygoing personalities. This gives rise to some gently ironic contrasts between the bourgeois NonomiyasР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ elegant but finicky lifestyle and the SaikisР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ unkempt, anything-goes existence.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON STRUGGLE TRIAL

The two families arrange gatherings for their children to mingle, and begin a trial system of exchanging the boys on weekends. Not that he doesnР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћt love his docile, mousy wife, Midori (Machiko Ono), or Keita, for whom he has planned a successful future and a rigid, demanding activity sheet to help get him there.Р вЂќР’В«ut the NonomiyasР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ lives are turned upside down when they learn that the hospital where Midori gave birth mistakenly switched infants, so Keita actually belongs to suburban appliance storeowners Yudai and Yukari Saiki (Lily Franky and Yoko Maki) Saiki, who have unwittingly raised the NonomiyasР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ son, Ryusei (Hwang Sho-gen), as their own. One finds out later that it was a lie drilled into the boy in preparation for the interview, and that Ryota is a driven architect who never spends time with his family. The film begins with a stiff, decorous school entrance interview, during which well-groomed 6-year-old Keita (Keita Ninomiya) relates how his father, Ryota Nonomiya (Masaharu Fukuyama), taught him to fly a kite on a family camping trip.

Like father like son struggle