There are times when the script seems just too schematic - as if Kore-eda has decided that we should all sit still while he lays out the nature versus nurture debate. Then the small truths which enrich each scene take over.

The performances seem to me impeccable. Kore-eda is one of a host of Japanese filmmakers who never cease to enchant me.

The film's climax, built around the layout of a particular Tokyo location, resolves this motif in a simple, elegant and wholly satisfying way.

Every time I watch a Kore-eda film, it feels like a good therapy session. At the end of his films we feel like we have grown alongside these characters.