Nobody Knows [DVD] [2004] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Kore-eda Hirokazu is one of the best Japanese directors working today. Initially a documentarist, he started off making films for TV about everyday problems in Japanese society, concerns which have carried over into his subsequent ‘fictional’ feature films. Distance (2001) was his response to the 1995 sarin gas subway attack by the sinister organization Aum Shinrikyo while Still Walking (2008) and I Wish (2011) were concerned with the broken nature of family lives in modern day Japan. Last year’s Like Father Like Son (2013) could have been ripped straight from newspaper headlines, focusing as it does on the case of a man who was mistakenly switched with another baby by a mid-wife soon after his birth and whose future was radically altered. This actually happened in Japan in a separate unrelated case and only a couple of months ago the victim was awarded a lump sum in damages from the government as compensation. The film under review here, Nobody Knows (2004) is another news headline written large, based as it is on the real story of a family of children abandoned by their mother in Sugamo Ward, Tokyo in 1988. Kore-eda has been careful to publically distance his film from the real life case, especially as the real story is more gruesome than what he puts in front of us here. Nevertheless, he did shoot the film in real time over a complete year, renting out an apartment (in which production staff of the film actually lived) and deploying documentary-style techniques to get as close as possible to the reality of what happens to a group of children when they are abandoned for 9 months. Hand-held camerawork combines with fly-on-the-wall observation of improvised performances from his cast of young actors to paint an extremely realistic picture. Resident in Japan (actually not far from Tokyo) and father of two elementary school kids, I was deeply shaken by this film. If we abandoned our kids I would say that what Kore-eda depicts would definitely happen. As such, I found it all just a little bit too close to home for comfort.The film opens with a mother Fukushima Keiko (You) and her 12 year old son Akira (Yagiri Yūya) moving into their new Tokyo apartment. Out of two heavy suitcases roll two more kids, the youngest son Shigeru (Kimura Hiei) and youngest daughter Yuki (Shimizu Momoko). A little later the oldest daughter Kyoko (Kitaura Ayu) arrives having been picked up at the nearest rail station by Akira. It transpires that the kids all have different fathers and that their births have not been registered with the authorities. To protect themselves from prying neighbors only Akira is allowed out of the apartment, the other three having to stay quiet and hide. The mother knows that if the authorities find out about them, the kids will be split up possibly forever. Initially she seems well intentioned, but she is young and flighty. She gets a job as a bar hostess and leaves her kids for increasingly long periods of time. One day she says goodbye and gives Akira 50,000 yen (about 250 pounds), saying she will be back for Christmas. She never returns. Eventually Akira traces her to working for a company under a new family name. He realizes she has re-married and has abandoned them. Most of the film is devoted to charting how the kids respond to their plight. At first Akira tries heroically to be the father, shopping, cooking, cleaning, instigating rules and delegating responsibilities. But as the money runs out, the food disappears and the utilities get cut off, the children revert inwards to find their baser animal instincts. I won’t describe what happens thereafter as it would spoil it for you, but rest assured what happens is heart-breaking to the extreme.If you have read this far, you might think Nobody Knows is an extremely depressing film. Fear not, for this film is no Lord of the Flies. By focusing on the positive qualities of the kids and their untapped potential for enjoying life and seizing the day with their unquenchable optimism, Kore-eda carves out a hugely positive celebration of the minutiae of everyday life which you and I take for granted. Never has an ice cream tasted so good and never has a simple trip to the local park been so liberating. At the same time the director focuses on what the kids need but cannot have to moving effect. Akira wants to go to school and craves friendship with his peers, and in the course of the film he achieves both albeit only in part. Then there is Kyoko who (because her father is a musician) wants to own and play her own piano, but has to make do with a plastic toy. As a father who sometimes has to force his kids to practice before their (very expensive!) piano lessons, my first reaction was to think about showing them this film to make them appreciate more the opportunities they have. Make no mistake this is one of those films which makes you feel lucky to be alive and lucky to be surrounded by your loved ones. In Hollywood hands it would be mired in mushy sentimentality, but Kore-eda’s stoicism and refusal to pander to the feel-good brigade pays off in spades. His approach is simple, subtle and profoundly revealing of the emotions that lay within the hearts of his young cast.The film’s greatest achievement rests on the effortlessly superb acting of the kids. Kore-eda has a way with youngsters and here he teases out astonishing performances, especially Yagiri Yūya who deservedly took home the best actor prize from Cannes that year. It is perhaps mistaken to talk about ‘performances’ here as when we look at these kids we just believe they are who they are – there are no performances involved. They simply inhabit their roles with astonishing reality. Combined with Kore-eda’s documentary approach this makes for a film of extraordinarily tangible emotional power.I was tempted to give 5 stars, but I have two slight criticisms. In the first place, at 140 minutes the film is a long haul which seems even longer because of the slow pace of the narrative. I have no problem with slow narratives, but as vital as the performances are and as sensitive as Kore-eda’s treatment is, there is simply not enough here to sustain the running time. Scenes become repetitive and one suspects a good 20 minutes could easily have been shorn without harming the film’s narrative structure. Secondly, I have a problem with the film’s ending. I can’t be specific here without giving the game away, but the whiff of artificial melodrama doesn’t sit with the natural treatment of everything that precedes it. I’m probably being a little harsh here, because on balance this is still a superior film that warrants close attention.I have no gripes with the quality of this ICA Projects DVD. It is a bare-bones product with no extras at all, not even the booklet that some reviews posted here have suggested comes with it. However, the picture and sound are both top quality with English subtitles properly letter-boxed and highly legible. I notice that this film is also being offered in a cheap box set together with Still Walking, After Life (1998) and Air Doll (2009). That would be the best way to buy it as the other 3 films are all excellent. For those unsure about Kore-eda this cheap single disc release remains a highly recommendable taster.

Japanese writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda’s 2004 film is a remarkable piece of work for a number of reasons. Not only is the film’s tale of child abandonment based, sadly, on a real-life case, but Koreeda again demonstrates his (seemingly) unparalleled talent for coaxing naturalistic and totally convincing performances from first-time child actors. Having read a little about Koreeda’s approach here – namely allowing his young cast to spend a good deal of time together in order to build trust and rapport, before shooting the film over an extended period of over a year – it called to my mind the film-making approach of Mike Leigh, whereby Leigh works in advance with his cast to develop full backstories for their characters. Of course, Koreeda is not working with experienced actors à la Leigh, making the resultant seamless whole of Nobody Knows, in which Koreeda’s young cast are frequently improvising, all the more amazing. The other notable quality of Koreeda’s film-making is its subtlety. This is a long film – around 140 minutes – and Koreeda develops his slow-build drama, maintaining a level of subtlety throughout – a subtlety that is almost too dispassionate at times, given the desperate circumstances his characters find themselves in.The look and feel of Nobody Knows points to Koreeda’s background in documentary making, which adds to the film’s sense of authenticity and, ultimately, power. His cast are uniformly excellent, particularly Yuya Yagira’s 12-year old, Akira, (the eldest of the abandoned quartet), but no doubt much of the credit for Yagira’s impressive turn should probably go to Koreeda, for his coaching. The actress You, as the quartet’s irresponsible, and increasingly absent, mother, Keiko, also delivers a flawless turn for what is (obviously) an infuriating character. Despite the film’s predominantly despairing theme, however, Koreeda does not paint an entirely bleak picture of humanity in modern day Japan. As Akira & co.’s plight becomes increasingly desperate, initially suspicious shop-workers step up to display their humanity and Koreeda’s depiction of innocent, ebullient childhood is frequently uplifting (Akira’s stint on the baseball field being a highlight), even if the contrast ultimately increases the sense of tragedy in the children’s plight. Stylistically, Koreeda’s approach to storytelling is relatively simple, although he gives us some nice symbolism to reinforce the latent emotion (e.g. contemplative shots of a washing machine and a nail varnish stain cleaned up by the mother, plus the ultimately tragic suitcase). The naming of the film’s 'hero’ (Akira) and the glimpse of the name ‘Mizoguchi’ may also constitute deliberate cinematic references (homages) from Koreeda.I would not, however, regard Nobody Knows as entirely flawless. The film’s running time could probably be pruned by around 20 or so minutes and, as viewers of the film, we might question some of Koreeda’s plot points, particularly the fact that no-one reports the children’s plight to the authorities. Even though, via this latter point, Koreeda is effectively giving us a 'worst case scenario’, it can be answered by the film-maker having kept true to the original real-life events. On balance, therefore, given the film’s notable strengths, particularly that of Koreeda’s remarkable handling of his cast, I err on the side of a top rating.

This movie was amazing, I loved the cinematography however the story was truly Heart-Wrenching, I couldn't stop crying by the end of the movie and it breaks my heart to know that the movie is based off of a true story. The 4 main actors(the kids) are amazing especially the actor for the oldest sibling.

I find it hard to even say in words how this film made me feel, so forgive me if i don't do it justice.I first saw this film on television 3 years ago...I was flicking though channels, trying to find something to cure the boredom that insomnia so greatly causes. I'd missed the first 10 minutes or so, not that it really mattered, cause instantly I was pulled in. The film from the get-go has such an isolated and personal feel. It feels honnest and not just because its based on a true story. It's a story about life with a real lack of direction, in this case, four kids living without the guidence of parents.It shows how through a come and go attitude to parenting, children are forced to lose there youth.Its amazing how such a young cast, pull off the feeling of lost childhood and social isolation so well. All the performances seem natural, with no feel of pre-planning. The impulsive nature of the characters is scarely beleivable, and even the few adult cast members pull off there rolls flawlessly.I don't want to say much about the actual story in fear of me going into spoiler country, but I love this film. It's warm, cold, loving and alone. It goes nowhere, but emotionally it goes places films very rarely do.Go check it out for yourself, tell 'em Ant sent you.

Wonderful, if sad and poignant film, beautifully shot and paced.

To think that so many children are actually going through this, on a daily basis in real life!🥺😔