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      Like Father, Like Son

      Released Jan 17, 2014 2 hr. 0 min. Drama List
      86% 102 Reviews Tomatometer 89% 5,000+ Ratings Audience Score Ryota learns that his biological son was switched at birth with the boy he has raised, and he must make a life-impacting decision between his two sons. Read More Read Less

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      Critics Consensus

      Sensitively written, smartly directed, and powerfully performed, Like Father, Like Son uses familiar-seeming elements to tell a thought-provoking story.

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      Audience Reviews

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      StephenPaul C The greatest 02 hours ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/23/23 Full Review William D Admirably, the movie doesn't serve up easy answers for what would be an excruciating situation for all involved. While the ending won't surprise you it's a very decent dramatic ride to that point. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/21/23 Full Review isla s This was a slightly slow film, plot wise, to start with but I found myself feeling (hopefully understandably?) quite sorry for the affected families (moreso the mothers than the fathers) and interested to see what they would do. Its quite a thought provoking film. I thought the topic was handled quite well, infact it felt a bit like a documentary film at times, more than perhaps a 'full blown drama' film. I liked the music played at the end - it gave it a haunting feel. I would recommend this film, although if you prefer quite high action/'busy' type films, then this one may be a bit slow and not to your liking. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Alvise F Kore-eda adding the improbable, but not unbelievable, element of the children's switching, finds the winning recipe for reinventing himself. The theme dear to the Tokyo director, the contemporary family and its disintegration, here takes on an almost surreal nuance, on which creates the foundations of an interesting social criticism. The class difference and the different way of life of the protagonists are always observed with dignity, maintaining impartiality and leaving the judgment to the audience. As in previous works, we find also the Japanese aesthetics of "mono no aware" (物の哀れ), that enhances the "pathos of things", or rather, the "empathy toward things"; which is revealed, for example, in the first encounter of the two families, when the father and his biological son chew the straw in the same way. After some less successful work, the author realizes a film that is less poetic than the first works but certainly more solid than the recent ones. It seems to have something new to say and we are here to hear it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/22/22 Full Review robbie v Slow paced exploration of how two families are affected when they discover their sons were swapped at birth. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member While I Gather The Premise Has Some Merit, Which Explores Status & Values Placed Upon Children Via Default Of Your Status, The Story Itself Was Pretty Bloody Boring. Basically A Great Idea With A Method Of Delivery That Sucked. I Also Found The Stoic Acting Style In A Lot Of The Scenes A Turn-Off Too. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald There are times when the script seems just too schematic - as if Kore-eda has decided that we should all sit still while he lays out the nature versus nurture debate. Then the small truths which enrich each scene take over. Rated: 3.5/5 May 2, 2014 Full Review Evan Williams The Australian The performances seem to me impeccable. Kore-eda is one of a host of Japanese filmmakers who never cease to enchant me. Rated: 4/5 Apr 18, 2014 Full Review Jake Wilson Sydney Morning Herald The film's climax, built around the layout of a particular Tokyo location, resolves this motif in a simple, elegant and wholly satisfying way. Rated: 3.5/5 Apr 16, 2014 Full Review Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine The overall message (don’t work so much and fly a kite with your kid) isn’t that far off from the usual Hollywood family film guilt-tripping of absent fathers. Jan 25, 2023 Full Review Dustin Chang ScreenAnarchy It seems Kore-eda Hirokazu is incapable of making bad movies. The babies-switched-at-birth premise in films is nothing new. But he just makes it so darn affecting and poignant, avoiding all the clichés that go with this kind of blurry-eyed family drama. Feb 24, 2021 Full Review MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher Beautiful and heartbreaking, from the masterful Hirokazu Koreeda. Oct 7, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Ryota learns that his biological son was switched at birth with the boy he has raised, and he must make a life-impacting decision between his two sons.
      Director
      Hirokazu Koreeda
      Executive Producer
      Tatsuro Hatanaka, Chihiro Kameyama, Tom Yoda
      Screenwriter
      Hirokazu Koreeda
      Distributor
      IFC Films
      Production Co
      Fuji Television Network Inc.
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Japanese
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jan 17, 2014, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 6, 2017
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $278.4K
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