Like Father, Like Son/そして父になる (Soshite Chichi ni Naru) (2013) - Koreeda's magnificent reflection on upbringing and family

♥♥♥♥♥♥

+ 2nd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Drama of the Year
+ Best Japanese Movie of the Year

The soulful, beautiful poster for Hirokazu Koreeda's Like Father, Like Son

Two Japanese families get their lives changed, when they accidentally learn that they are raising each others' biological sons, who are now both 6 years old. Is the case clear; that the two must naturally simply be switched back to their biological parents, or ... ?

Like Father, Like Son by Japanese master writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda (Still Walking/Aruitemo Aruitemo (2008)) is a simple story that becomes the entrance to an insightful, sensitive study of families and the child-parent bond.
The film is acted flawlessly in all the parts; particularly Masaharu Fukuyama (Suspect X/Yôgisha X No Kenshin (2008)) as the lead father, who learns that he has not been an outstanding ditto, should be accentuated for his forceful, human portrait.
Like Father, Like Son is deeply human, gratifying, painful and beautiful, all at once. It doesn't choose the easy way out narratively, but is instead a serious depiction of how two families might tackle such an unusual dilemma. It invites sensitive thoughtfulness and even improves us as human beings, I think.
Don't miss this rare masterpiece!

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Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: In excess of 36.4 mil. $
= Uncertainty
[Like Father, Like Son was filmed in 2012. It was most likely a big or huge hit commercially. It won the Jury Prize in Cannes and received good reviews. It only grossed 0.3 mil. $ (0.8 % of the total gross) in North America, the film's 5th biggest market. The top 3 were native Japan (31.1 mil. $/86 %), France (2.1 mil. $/5.8 %) and Hong Kong (0.6 mil. $/1.6 %). As Jury President in Cannes, Steven Spielberg saw the film and acquired the rights to an American remake. Chris and Paul Weitz are slated to direct. Like Father, Like Son is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.6 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Like Father, Like Son?