Like Father, Like Son
Hirokazu Kore-eda has always been an expert on character studies and found family type movies, but this would be more accurately said to be a swapped family. I was also extremely surprised by this because I was not really feeling thing in the first few minutes, but the next time I checked my watch, 40 minutes passed and I realized how invested I was in this film. This is a beautiful film about how family can transcend blood and the human condition of caring for children no matter what. This film portrays both families are incredibly selfish in different ways, but also leans into the fact they parents can makes mistakes. I love how this film tackles those themes and I don't think I can write enough about this to do this movie justice. You will just need to watch this to understand how brilliant this is.
All of the acting in this is great, but I need to shout out Masaharu Fukuyama who played one of the dads in this. Masaharu Fukuyama also was in Hirokazu Kore-eda's film The Third Murder and I loved him in this as well. His role in this movie is very complicated and you see his ideals and beliefs change slowly over the film where he has the most beautiful scene at the end of this film. I also would like to mention a courtroom scene that had really good camera work and acting from Lily Franky who also was in a lot of Hirokazu Kore-eda's film.
This is honestly a masterwork of acting and characters and it's no wonder this film is in the Letterboxd top 500! I give this my full recommendation and you should all check this out when you can!
All of the acting in this is great, but I need to shout out Masaharu Fukuyama who played one of the dads in this. Masaharu Fukuyama also was in Hirokazu Kore-eda's film The Third Murder and I loved him in this as well. His role in this movie is very complicated and you see his ideals and beliefs change slowly over the film where he has the most beautiful scene at the end of this film. I also would like to mention a courtroom scene that had really good camera work and acting from Lily Franky who also was in a lot of Hirokazu Kore-eda's film.
This is honestly a masterwork of acting and characters and it's no wonder this film is in the Letterboxd top 500! I give this my full recommendation and you should all check this out when you can!
Mini Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda has always excelled at character studies and found-family stories, though this film is more about a swapped family. I was surprised by how invested I became. I checked the time expecting 10 minutes had passed, but it had been 40. The film beautifully explores how family can transcend blood, while showing both families as selfish yet deeply human. Masaharu Fukuyama gives a fantastic performance as one of the fathers, and his final scene is incredible.
Watch the Trailer