There are worse nightmares for parents but this one is pretty bad, to find out that your 6-year-old son is biologically not your own, that he was switched at birth with another baby. In telling this story about the dilemma the two sets of parents find themselves facing, Kore-eda touches on nature vs. nurture, parenting styles, and class differences. The rich father seems ice cold emotionally, and it's telling that his first thought is that he'll pay the other man and take both kids. We learn that he is the way he is for a reason as the story spans three generations, though it would have been even better if we had gotten a little more backstory on the mothers. As in all of Kore-eda's films, there is a gentleness here, but it's perhaps too gentle, since painful situations like this often seem to bring out more trauma than amicability. There are lots of adorable moments with the kids though, and the film's central message is so sweet - spend time with your kids, love them for who they are, and be as good or better than your own father was.
Review of Like Father, Like Son
