If the term ‘little monsters’ is uttered, it’s usually in reference to a misbehaving child or three, as any weary parent will know.

The little ‘darlings’ can be a handful at the best of times, to the point where you may think to yourself that adopting a kitten instead may not have been that bad of an idea.

And although Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film has some troublesome and troubled tykes, the shadow of his monster casts a long and looming shadow.

Working in a dry cleaning shop is single mother Saori (Sakura Andô). Her son Minato (Soya Kurokawa) is currently in fifth grade, and although she has a good relationship with him, he’s starting to behave slightly peculiarly and it makes her start to worry.

After a while her mother’s intuition leads her to believe that he is actually being bullied by his teacher, Mr Hori (Eita Nagayama), and decides to confront the school about it. To her amazement, their response is muted to say the least, which only makes her more adamant to get to the bottom of it.

However, unbeknownst to her, she’s only scratching at the surface of a more intricate and complicated scenario that they will all find themselves in.

Initially, Kore-eda’s film resembles a fairly run-of-the-mill story of a protective mother looking out for her only son. But then he slowly reveals how very layered and nuanced the story is. And by the end of it, it resembles Christopher Nolan’s Memento , as flashbacks from different points of view finally put all the pieces of this fascinating puzzle together.

This results in the film essentially being about absolutely everything, from bonding, to grief, red tape to redemption, parenthood to flourishing friendships, the brutality of children with their peers, to love. All served up with a delicate soundtrack, provided by none other than Ryuichi Sakamoto, in what would be his final score, with the film dedicated to the great composer’s memory.

It’s a slow burner, but by the end of it you will feel as if you have been through the emotional ringer a number of times.

Much of this is down to some exceptional performances, which you think peeks far too early with Andô’s determined mother, but only gets better and better. At its heart though, albeit eventually, are its two young stars, Kurokawa as Minato and Hinata Hiiragi as his best friend Yori; whenever they are on screen, they’re almost the perfect advert for why we procreate in the first place. Almost.

It is beautifully crafted by Kore-eda, as he slowly yet assuredly unravels and reveals the unfolding drama, with edges of story overlapping perfectly like cinematic origami, resulting in a stunning, heartbreaking and unforgettable slice of life drama.