"Hey son, remember when I hit you and threw you down the stairs the other day when I was mad at you because you were secretly taking piano lessons? Well I'm very very sorry for doing this, it was an extremely disgraceful action and I deeply regret it. I hope someday you can forgive me and start to trust me again. I love you."
Some sort of that dialogue was missing for me in this film. Maybe it's just me.
He didn't exactly hit the son, he was chasing the son who fell down the stairs.
Then his posture and actions at the hospital seemed to show remorse, and I'm quite sure it is not in Japanese culture for the father to apologise to the son.
Later he comes home and the son says he's dressed funny, it would seem they have already forgotten that little episode.
Plus the final scene shows the change of heart of the father to let the son pursue his dream and support him.
He didn't exactly hit the son, he was chasing the son who fell down the stairs.
Then his posture and actions at the hospital seemed to show remorse, and I'm quite sure it is not in Japanese culture for the father to apologise to the son.
Alright, I thought you meant he hit his son causing him to fall down the stairs.
Anyway, he didn't throw the son down the stairs, and yup, he did hit his son but in Asian culture that's not uncommon.
I agree with you, I found myself severely disliking Sasaki after that scene, the way he treated Kenji, and an apology of some sort was sorely lacking afterwards. But throughout the film, a great many things went unsaid; that apathy, loss of direction and depression was a major aspect of the whole film; besides, by the end of the film, Sasaki had actually accepted Kenji's desire to become a pianist, and I found the way he watched with rapt attention and on the verge of tears as Kenji performed Clair de Lune, and the way he touched his son's head afterwards, just before the credits rolled, suggested a reconciliation and a softening of the father's ways to me
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