A genuinely super film about a family of small time chancers who survive on their wits on the verge of poverty. There is something almost Fagin-esque about their behaviour, but in best Robin Hood tradition we always feel that their small-scale criminal activities are carried out as a result of necessity than from any need or wish to do anyone else any harm. They take in a little girl off the street which stretches their already meagre resources but without rancour or complaint and we skip through a series of events, some beautifully poignant some rather more serious. The contrast between the three generations of the "Shibata" family living in a space no bigger than an average garage compared with some of the wealth and Japanese opulence surrounding them is expertly delivered by a strong cast - especially the youngsters - under the careful direction of Hirozaku Koreeda - and makes for a thought-provoking two hours of cinema.

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