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Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, who has that rare ability to capture the essence of childhood with effervescent sensitivity, has done it again with "I Wish," the story of a family separated by divorce and the two brothers who scheme to bring everyone back together.

Tapping into that universal hope of so many kids of broken homes, Kore-eda has conjured up a Tom Sawyer-esque adventure for 12-year-old Koichi, who lives with his mother and grandparents in Kagoshima, in the southern Kyushu region, and his younger brother Ryunosuke, Ryu for short, who chose to stay with his father in Hakata, in the north. The boys, wonderfully played by real brothers Koki and Ohshiro Maeda, stay in touch by cellphone, but Koichi in particular longs for an intact family, and that longing shapes the rest of the film.

The great elegance in Kore-eda's work is that the writer-director allows the story to emerge from everyday moments, one event triggering the next such as Koichi's school assignment to write about his father's profession, which leaves the youngster feeling his dad's (Joe Odagiri) absence sharply and triggering his push to reunite the family.

When Koichi overhears one of his classmates say that the new bullet train which will connect the brothers' cities has some wish-granting powers, a plan in born. Each boy enlists his friends to raise enough money to buy tickets to the town that is exactly halfway between them, since in theory if you make a wish just as the northbound train passes the southbound for the very first time, it will come true.

With seven kids, two cities and tight train schedules involved, the stage is set for a lot of things to go right and wrong.

In the brothers, Kore-eda is essentially examining two sides of the same coin. Koichi, the serious one, is careful with his studies, caring with his friends and family, always contemplating the reasons why especially why anyone would choose to live in the shadow of an active volcano, which he now does. It makes for a nice metaphor that his life is literally covered in the ash that drifts down every day.

Ryu is the jokester, a roll-with-the-punches kind of kid who is weathering the separation much more easily than his older brother. He's got a group of fast friends and a quick giggle that Ohshiro makes scene stealing every time. But in the way of latchkey kids who take on grown-up tasks, Ryu also looks out for his struggling rocker of a dad, their house more a crash pad for the band than a home.

The power released by the passing trains is a whimsical myth, one the filmmaker uses to keep the tone much lighter than his acclaimed 2004 film, "Nobody Knows," with its moving story of four siblings abandoned by their single mom. In "I Wish" there is much more mischief afoot. As the kids scramble to set up plans to skip school and fool their parents, hopes and dreams are explored, and not just of the brothers.

The grown-ups have wishes of their own. Koichi's grandfather (Isao Hashizume) and his cronies concoct a secret plan to sell traditional treats to the tourists the bullet train promises to bring, one that is almost as elaborate as the kids' scheme. Koichi's mom (Nene Ohtsuka) wants to find love again, which only adds to Koichi's anxiety, while his dad is counting on new music and new bandmates to finally make it.

There is a lot of hope in the air in "I Wish," but the film never feels sappy. The very appealing score by the Japanese indie-rock group Quruli brings a kind of upbeat energy that matches the clean, open style of director of photography Yutaka Yamazaki, a frequent Kore-eda collaborator.

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Review: Hope springs eternal in 'I Wish'