THE story of babies being switched at birth is a common yarn tackled by many filmmakers both on the big and small screens. With a bit of craft and originality, it can be twisted into either a comedy or drama.

Japanese director-writer Hirokazu Kore-eda goes for the latter in his latest film Like Father Like Son; he also turns it into a slow-burning tearjerker. It's the arthouse filmmaker's most accessible work to date because of the familiar subject matter he had chosen to explore and execute in his typical low-key style.

Bar one very obvious hanky moment in the third act, the rest of Like Father Like Son tugs gently at the audience's heartstrings, putting a lump in their throats rather than trying to make them bawl their eyes out throughout.