Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster is a drama based on misunderstandings, which, when it comes to annoying narratives, is up at the very top, surely. I have been known to throw a shoe at the screen when the plot device stops anyone uttering the few words that will clear everything up in one minute flat, allowing us all to go home. (This afflicts 96 per cent of romcoms, I would estimate.) But Kore-eda, who has films such as Shoplifters on his CV – and also Broker and Like Father, Like Son, among other wonderfully human dramas – can get away with it and does. The upshot is that this affecting, heartfelt, cleverly constructed tale didn’t make me want to throw anything at the screen.

Without giving anything away, I recommend that you always note the sound of a French horn

Usually Kore-eda writes and directs but here he’s directing from a screenplay by Yuji Sakamato. The film has a tripartite structure but there’s no first act, second, third. Instead, it’s the same story each time from a different point of view. Set in a provincial Japanese town, every section starts with the same event: a building on fire. First, we meet Saori (Sakura Ando) and her son Minato (Soya Kurokawa), witnessing the fire from the balcony of their apartment. Minato is ten, maybe 11, and is behaving oddly. He has cut his own hair. He arrives home from school wearing just one sneaker (perhaps he threw the other at a romcom?) and then with a bloody ear. He thinks his brain might have been transplanted with a pig’s. Who is bloodying your ear and telling you such nonsense, his mother demands to know. His teacher Mr Hori, he finally confesses. Saori has a frustrating time with the school, where rigid formalities take precedence and the principal (Yuko Tanaka) seems capable only of banalities. ‘We accept your opinion with seriousness,’ she keeps repeating while nodding.

Then it’s back to that fire and now it’s the point of view of Mr Hori (Eita Nagayama). Is he the bully? Or is Minato bullying a classmate, Yori (Hinata Hiiragi)? What, hang on, that’s an option? Minato is the bully? This part builds with all the tension of a thriller. Finally it’s Minato’s story, which is the richest. What has been going on? The adults, it turns out, have failed to spot a piece in the puzzle and when they do, is it too late?

Kore-eda is able to evoke complex characterisations from his young actors. They are never child-actorly; they bring naturalism as well as depth and nuance. Backstories evolve not by exposition but in small details, sometimes just a word or two. In this way we learn about Minato’s father, Yori’s home life, and what the principal is going through, even if she is rather underwritten.

I have seen Monster twice and, without giving anything away, would recommend you always note the following: the sound of a French horn, a gas-hob ignition lighter and the glimpses of someone who has a connection with the building on fire. Noting these will enhance your enjoyment and also your admiration for the structure. Among the misunderstandings, one obfuscation is mildly trying, but this is essentially about dealing with the big, impossible feelings children often can’t explain because they’ve yet to understand themselves. (I have to be vague. This is one of those films where you should know as little as possible going in.)

The ending is open to interpretation, which, admittedly, is the most annoying kind of ending – if you’re going to take up two hours of my time have the decency to conclude matters properly! – but here it is so beautiful and joyous I was willing to let it go. It’s not a cop-out. It’s not an Anatomy of a Fall type of ending. Talking of which, I think she did it. Unless she didn’t.