Writer-director Meelad Moaphi’s first feature His Father’s Son is a restrained, but powerful look at familial secrets. Based around a plot and grand reveal that lesser filmmakers would play for melodramatic high spots, His Father’s Son keeps things on an even keel throughout in its examination of immigrant identity. It’s not too great of a mystery to see where Moaphi is heading with the material, but the drama arises from wondering just when someone will cut through the tension to admit the obvious. There’s little fake or coercive about His Father’s Son (which picked up the audience award at Reel Asian this past fall), and the lived in cultural perspective is much appreciated.
Amir (Alireza Shojaei) and Mahyar (Parham Rowanghi) are very different brothers. Amir, who was born in Iran before moving to Canada with his parents, Farhad (Gus Tayari) and Arezou (Mitra Lohrasb), works as an aspiring chef in Toronto. Amir scratches and claws his way towards landing a better job and some degree of recognition, both on social media and with his disapproving father. Younger brother Mahyar, however, was born in Canada, still lives with his parents, and can seemingly do no wrong in their eyes. In a nice reversal of expectation with this kind of dynamic, Moaphi refuses to paint Mahyar as being oblivious to how spoiled he is. Mahyar and Amir actually get along quite well, even if the latter is perpetually jealous of the love his younger brother receives. Even Mahyar is confused as to why Farhad and Arezou give him preferential treatment.
The conflict that arises in His Father’s Son isn’t one that will necessarily tax the relationship between Amir and Mahyar, but more so the one they have with their parents. Amir receives word from his lawyer that the family’s former doctor in Iran has passed away, leaving a $1.2 million inheritance to Mahyar. It’s a strange scenario, since Amir barely remembers this man, and Mahyar knows nothing about him. The brothers constantly ask Farhad and Arezou how this could happen, but the parents keep telling their kids to take the money, split it between the two of them, and say nothing more about it. Keen to start a life of his own, Mahyar is better at accepting the money without too many second thoughts, but the frustrated Amir knows his parents are hiding the truth about an inheritance that seems too good to be true.
What is the benefit of keeping the nature of the inheritance secret, and what does Amir stand to gain by trying to blow it all up? Those are the questions Moaphi silently poses in His Father’s Son. The trajectory of Moaphi’s narrative is smooth and confident, with momentum picking up so gradually that the audience barely processes it happening in the moment. His Father’s Son is a drama where people don’t so much shout at each other or raise their voices, but when cornered they tense up and get defensive in other (potentially worse) ways. It’s a film about life changing moments told in a pleasingly lower register than many similarly minded stories.
The Iranian perspective likely helps in that manner, with the parents coming across as likeable people who stoically clam up when confronted with harsh truths, and their sons caught between what they’ve been taught about their lineage and where the truth lies. Moaphi’s cast delivers strong work across the board, led by Shojaei’s nuanced and passionate leading performance. Shojaei wears a perpetual look of exhaustion and impatience throughout, even in scenes opposite Dina (Romina D’Ugo, also excellent), Amir’s girlfriend who’s married to another man. Amir’s life is a mess, and mounting unhappiness leads him to make decisions that speak to an uneasy combination of pride and low self-esteem; something he shares greatly with his father, although neither man would likely admit to that.
Although the characters in His Father’s Son are obviously flawed, the longer the viewer spends time with them, the more they grow to like and understand where they are coming from, their fears, and their hopes for the future. It’s a film where the viewer will spend most of their time wondering when Amir will finally speak up and say what’s on his mind (or if his parents will admit their secret). But although the reveal itself isn’t hard to decipher, the steps leading to that point and beyond are captivating. While the film ends a bit abruptly and on a slightly odd tonal note, everything before that point is expertly realized, paced, and framed.
His Father’s Son opens at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto on Friday, June 20, 2025, with cast and crew Q&A’s following the 8:05 pm screening on Friday, and the 5:50 pm screening on Saturday. It opens in Vancouver on June 27 and expands to additional Canadian cities throughout the summer.
