In the end, is a father who has accomplished nothing and is full of shortcomings, but can play with his children, is a good father, or is a successful career, unsmiling, but never has time to accompany his children, is a good father? Hirokazu Kore-eda's film "Like Father Like Son" uses a story about holding the wrong child to explore the issue of good fathers and bad fathers.
Many are life winners. Working in a large company, the leader is trustworthy and generous to his subordinates. He worked overtime on Saturdays and did not forget to invite everyone to eat pizza. Back at home, his wife is virtuous, his children are well-behaved and sensible, and he has successfully entered a private elementary school with a bright future. The only regret is that many do not have time to accompany their son Qingduo.
The serious family atmosphere of many families is also reflected in the way many families appear. In the interview scene of private elementary schools, the appearance of a family sitting upright is actually a portrayal of the state of many families.
An accident happened, it turns out that Qing Duo is not a lot of biological children. The shot at this time was particularly meaningful. The director used the hospital's people to cover up many couples, and used backlighting to create heavy shadows on their faces, showing that this news was like a bolt from the blue. Although most realistic movies use natural light effects, natural light can still create the dramatic effect that the plot needs.
The owner of the hardware store, Xiong Da, has a low income and has all the shortcomings of the poor: he likes to make a little money, drinks drinks and makes noise, and bites straws. When talking about business, he only cares about eating, he is afraid of his wife, he is always late, etc. Obviously, the Xiong Conference has a lot of adverse effects on the children. Many of his biological sons, Liu Qing, grew up in the Xiong family, and they also have the same bad habits. Although Xiong will repair toys and amuse children, it is obvious that such a father is an incompetent "bad father"
Many people disdain the Xiongda family, when Xiongda said: I have spent more time with Qingduo than you have spent with him in the past 6 years. Many blurted out: there are still many tasks that cannot be given to others, and that only I can do. But Xiongda said: Father is also a job that no one else can replace. Many were speechless when they heard it. Afterwards, Qing Duo made two roses for his fathers, Liang Duo and Xiongda. This makes a lot of people start to think, who is a good father and who is a bad father?
At this point in the story, it is easy for us to label the two dads as good dads and bad dads. Many of them are good, but they never accompany their children, and they are obviously bad dads. If it was Hirokazu Koreeda who made the characters so face-to-face, it would not be worthy of the reputation of a world-class director. Then the director turned his pen and turned the direction of the film elsewhere. Let us see a broader social picture and face more complex human nature.
Many received the "apology money" from the nurses and went to the door to refund them in anger, but they encountered the nurse's stepson who came out to protect the nurse. In those days, the nurse exchanged other children's children because of the hostility of the stepson. In the past few years, the same stepson has taken the nurse as his mother to protect him.
Since my father remarried when I was a child, many of them also had a stepmother, but they never accepted her in their hearts, and they always treated the stepmother politely and indifferently. Seeing the nurse's stepson, many couldn't help but reflect, so much so that they called the stepmother to apologize.
These two episodes seem to have nothing to do with the main line, but in fact, through a lot of growth experiences, a deeper problem is raised: many fathers say: Your child will eventually become more and more like you, this is blood. But Xiongda's wife said: These are the words that you men who don't take care of children can say. So, is the family relationship maintained by blood or the relationship accumulated by companionship?
Although many hesitated, they still agreed with their father's words and chose to exchange children. And ignoring family affection also laid the groundwork for Liu Qing's sneaking away. Liu Qing came to the new home and couldn't communicate with many people. Too many rules also made Liu Qing feel depressed. Finally, she secretly returned to the Xiong family when her mother took a nap. When a lot of people came to pick up Liu Qing, the Xiongda couple half-truths suggested: If you can't take care of them, we can take care of two children at the same time. Here, the Xiongda couple are in a higher position than many others, forming a commanding dominance. Through this arrangement, the director interestingly countered many of the same proposals he had made before. It is a common expression technique used by film directors to symbolize the relationship between characters through the high and low relationship between actors.
Finally, many changed from bad father to good father, and played happily with Liu Qing. When I woke up in the morning and looked through the photos, I saw Qing Duo's back and photos of himself sleeping. Liao Duo Cai finally realizes his debts and misses to Qing Duo; he realizes that in front of the family affection day after day, blood is not worth mentioning. Tears of remorse flowed silently. And using the camera to shoot people's backs and images when they fall asleep, is the director paying tribute to Yang Dechang's "One One"?
A lot of families came to the Xiong family. Facing the angry Qing Duo, many chased after them. The two went one after the other and finally came together at the end of the fork. The selection of the scene and the scheduling of the actors just allude to the main story of the whole film. A lot of people finally become a good father, but this change is not as simple as accompanying the children to play, but through the story in the second half of the film to tell us that family love is not maintained by blood, but by companionship.
The focus on family affection and family is also the theme that director Hirokazu Koreeda has always paid attention to. In "The Thief Family", a family that has no blood relationship but is full of affection is even more extreme. Through the torture of the nature of family affection, the director triggers people's reflection on the social system. The film has the most profound thought among the director's many works.
And back to "Like Father Like Son", the director does not have much ambition, but just tells us a simple truth through a rare story: in family love, cherishing every day's company is a good start.
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