Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda visited China last weekend to promote his classic melodrama "Like Father, Like Son," which will be screened in the Chinese market on Dec. 6, more than a decade after its initial release in 2013.

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda interacts with the audience at a premiere event held for "Like Father, Like Son" in Beijing, Dec. 1, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Road Pictures]

Accompanied by one of the film's cast members, Lily Franky, Kore-eda arrived in Shanghai on Nov. 30 and traveled to Beijing on Dec. 1 for a tour to promote the film. The campaign attracted enthusiastic Chinese audiences, who attended meet-and-greet events and interactions following the movie's screenings.

The film, starring singer-songwriter and actor Masaharu Fukuyama in his first role as a father, premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it later won the Jury Prize and received a ten-minute standing ovation after its screening. The drama was later released in Japan in September 2013, grossing 3.2 billion yen ($30 million in 2013), an uncommon achievement for an art-house film.

The film tells the story of Ryota Nonomiya, a successful architect who discovers that his biological son, Ryusei, was switched at birth with Keita, the boy that he and his wife have been raising. They must decide whether to keep Keita or return him to the Saiki family, who have raised Ryusei. Through painful exchanges, both families struggle emotionally as they navigate the challenges of the situation. 

"Like Father, Like Son" has been well received in China, with an 8.7/10 rating on the country's major review aggregation site Douban from more than 163,000 users who have watched it on various platforms, though not in theaters.

Following the success of Kore-eda's Palme d'Or-winning "Shoplifters" (2018), which became the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film at the Chinese box office thanks to its import and marketing by China's Road Pictures, the company, which has been focusing on expanding the Japanese film and animation market in China, decided to bring "Like Father, Like Son" to Chinese audiences.

(From left to right) Actor Lily Franky, director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Peking University professor Dai Jinhua and host Chen Luyu pose for a photo with the audience at a premiere event held for "Like Father, Like Son" in Beijing Dec. 1, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Road Pictures]

At an event held at Peking University, Kore-eda said that the core of this early classic is about figuring out how to become parents to children. "When I first began crafting this story, I had become a father but struggled to spend quality time with my daughter due to my continuous involvement in filmmaking," he said.

One day, after returning home and spending only limited time with his daughter, she asked him to visit again the next day when he departed. "It was a jarring realization. It dawned on me that I might be viewed more as a distant uncle than an involved father," he recalled.

The director expressed that he always loves to depict small stories about ordinary individuals rather than tackle big themes like world peace or epic wars. He said he would stay true to his heart, discovering the motifs that are fundamental to him, what he wants to create and what feels urgent to him.

A Chinese poster for "Like Father, Like Son." [Image courtesy of Road Pictures]

Though Masaharu Fukuyama couldn't attend the Chinese events alongside Kore-eda and Lily Franky, he prerecorded a video and called in during the premiere. "I feel that truly remarkable works have the ability to transcend time — whether it's Shakespeare, 'The Romance of the Three Kingdoms' or other works considered masterpieces. I hope this film will become one of those timeless stories passed down through generations," he said.

Fukuyama continued, "The theme of this film is family. What is family? I think this concept changes over time, and when you have a family of your own, its meaning evolves too. You can't even say that family is defined solely by blood ties. I believe this is an important film that reflects on human relationships. Through this film, you'll begin to deeply consider some important questions in life."

After Fukuyama's call during the Beijing premiere, famous Chinese host Chen Luyu asked Kore-eda about his current relationship with his daughter, causing the director to pause and mull over the question.

"I still maintain a distant parent-child relationship, so when I'm shooting films in France or South Korea, there are times when we don't see each other for almost a year. During that time, she's grown up completely. When I messaged her recently, 'I'm sorry we couldn't spend much time together,' she replied, 'don't worry about it.'"

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