Review of The Other Son

The Other Son (2012)
9/10
The title can be "The other parents" or "The other self" too
13 January 2014
Baby switching error at hospital is the same motif with "Like Father, Like Son", but these movies have completely different viewpoints. In case of "Like Father, Like Son", as the wrongly switched children are still very young, the story is told from the parents viewpoint. The key question asked in the movie is: what makes the parent-child relationship true, under the biological relationship is denied. On the other hand, in case of "The Other Son", the wrongly switched children are already 18 years old, intelligent, tough-to-fudge youths. Furthermore, one is a Jew and the other is a Palestinian. Therefore, in this movie the story is told from both of parents' and children's viewpoints, more on the children's viewpoint. Thus, the title of the movie can be "The other parents" or "The other self" too.

In general, in the movies where a family faces an extraordinary problem, fathers are less reliable than mothers. In this movie too, the first reaction of the two fathers is to deny the fact. They try to think as if nothing happened. Mothers, however, immediately face the issue, share empathy with the other. Well, I am a man, but I have to agree with this development. The plot is simple. Both parents do not have complicated private background. Still, this is a heart-moving one. The most impressing scene for me was that Joshua suddenly sings at the dinner. Is it a Palestinian song?
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