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Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

The meaning of being a parent slowly dawns on a workaholic Tokyo architect in Hirokazu Koreeda's charming but surprisingly lightweight changeling drama. Masaharu Fukuyama plays the father who discovers that the hospital where his son was born made an error six years earlier, and that the boy is not his own flesh and blood. Accompanied by his dutiful wife (Machiko Ono), Fukuyama meets his real child, who has been raised in a much more relaxed manner in the suburbs by shop owners Lily Franky and Yoko Maki. But it's not until he comes to terms with his own childhood memories that Fukuyama can reconcile himself to his new circumstances. Koreeda makes some keen insights into the dynamics of the average Japanese household and coaxes exemplary performances out of his young actors, but the mother figures are thinly sketched and the fathers conform rather too neatly to salaryman stereotypes. Although it's a well-told tale, the conclusions it reaches regarding the nature-versus-nurture debate are poignant if rather predictable.

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Credits

Cast

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Ryota NonomiyaMasaharu Fukuyama
Midorino NonomiyaMachiko Ono
Yukari SaikiYoko Maki
Yudai SaikiLily Franky

Crew

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DirectorHirokazu Koreeda

Details

Theatrical distributor
Arrow Films
Released on
2013-10-18
Languages
Japanese
Available on
DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Colour
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