THE PLOT THUS FAR
Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth, he must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Like Father, Like Son” is a story about a mix-up at birth. Two Japanese families realize that they have the wrong sons when the kids turn 6. They contemplate doing the right thing, but will they be able to do it when they only recognize one child as their kid? One family is upper middle class and affluent. The other are rural folk who work with their hands. One child learns he has siblings, while the other learns that he is the sole progeny. For a kid, this change in the status quo is devasting. Most of the movie focuses on how this influences their lives from this point moving forward.
The film follows the same beats as the director’s prior film “Still Walking”. The young actors doing an amazing job portraying the frustration of having your world turned upside down. When kid actors are on fire, there’s something about their performances that highlight a space and time that will never be recaptured as adults. You will feel their sense of betrayal and the stunning realization that the world they know is over. Heartbreak like that can’t be taught, but damn if they can’t make you feel it in every inch of your body.
The DVD comes with a trailer as the sole special feature. The A/V Quality is pretty sharp for a foreign drama. The Dolby 5.1 surround track gets to show off a lovely soundstage. That being said, the transfer still feels washed out. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 07/01/2014