Like Father, Like Son opens with a phone call no parent wants to receive: Ryota and Midori's six-year-old son was switched at birth, and their biological child has been growing up in a much poorer family across town. Ryota, a controlled, career-focused architect, is forced to decide between the boy he's raised and the son he's never met - and to confront how little of a father he's actually been to either. Hirokazu Kore-eda has built an entire career around quiet, closely observed family dramas, and this is one of his most devastating - a film that uses a fairly outlandish premise to ask a plain question about what actually makes someone a parent. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes and became a surprise box office hit in Japan, eventually grossing over three billion yen against expectations of a niche arthouse run. Variety said it reverberates with heartrending impact, while Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph wrote that Kore-eda's status as Ozu's heir becomes ever more assured. Asia Cine-Club: Like Father, Like Son (2013, Japan) Tuesday, September 29 | Doors: 6PM | Film: 8PM | TicTic, Phnom Penh Free Entry & Popcorn - Arrive early for sofa, bed, or beanbag seating.
