paternal abandonment

His gritty social realist films consistently portray working-class fathers struggling with economic pressure and familial responsibility, often leading to emotional or physical abandonment.

His narratives frequently explore fractured family dynamics and paternal absence, examining how fathers' choices—both intentional and circumstantial—profoundly affect their children's lives.

His meditative character studies deeply examine absent or emotionally distant fathers and the psychological weight this absence places on their children across generations.