A triumph of Japanese filmography. Stand aside Kurosawa you have been bettered. Fantastic script and plot - a real family must see. I thought the complete 'realisticness' was particularly superb. I must comment on the outstanding acting which although must have been done under lots of distractions never wavered and continued to excel throughout. The story and script was written in such a way that you feel unable to tear yourself away from the screen! I will not go into details so I avoid spoiling it for people but the very first scene was superb and set the highest of standards for the rest of the film to follow. Surprisingly it achieved this and more through the course of the film and the subtle story was cleverly revealed bit by bit.