Nobody Knows (2004)
"Dare mo shiranai" (original title)

In a small Tokyo apartment, 12-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and doesn't seem to be coming back.

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writer:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Stars:

Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura

13 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yûya Yagira	...	Akira Fukushima
Ayu Kitaura	...	Kyoko
Hiei Kimura	...	Shigeru
Momoko Shimizu	...	Yuki
Hanae Kan	...	Saki
You	...	Keiko, the mother
Kazuyoshi Kushida	...	Yoshinaga, The Landlord
Yukiko Okamoto	...	Eriko Yoshinaga
Sei Hiraizumi	...	Mini-market Manager
Ryo Kase	...	Mini-market Employee
Takako Tate	...	Mini-market teller
Yûichi Kimura	...	Sugihara (Taxi Driver)
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Pachinko Parlor Employee
Susumu Terajima	...	Baseball coach
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shinichi Hashizawa

Storyline

In Tokyo, the reckless single mother Keiko moves to a small apartment with her twelve years old son Akira Fukushima and hidden in the luggage, his siblings Kyoko, Shigeru and Yuki. The children have different fathers and do not have schooling, but they have a happy life with their mother. When Keiko finds a new boyfriend, she leaves the children alone, giving some money to Akira and assigning him to take care of his siblings. When the money finishes, Akira manages to find means to survive with the youngsters without power supply, gas or water at home, and with the landlord asking for the rental.

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | money | landlord | single mother | boy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements and some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [Singapore] (English)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

21 October 2004 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Nobody Knows

Filming Locations:

Haneda International Airport, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$32,393 (USA) (4 February 2005)

Gross:

$683,575 (USA) (24 June 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Cine Qua Non Films, Dare mo Shiranai Seisaku Iinkai

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min 141 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed chronologically over almost an entire year.

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Goofs

When Akira buys the stack of chocolates for Yuki near the end of the movie, he buys 19 boxes and the total comes to 1,895 yen. As there was no sales tax at the time Japan, each box would have to be priced at 99.74 yen - which is essentially impossible.

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Quotes

Yuki: No, I'm gonna meet mommy at the station.
Kyoko: She's not coming home today.
Yuki: I'm sure she's coming home today.

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Connections

References Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Houseki"
Sung by Takako Tate

User Reviews

A deeply moving film

Today I went to the pre-screening of "Nobody Knows," a stunningly brilliant film by director Hirokazu Koreeda who also directed the philosophical "After Life."

What if I were a 12 years old boy and left alone to take care of two younger sisters and one younger brother in a big city like Tokyo, and I have to hide them in the apartment so nobody knows about them? That's what I have been thinking when I was watching this film and how the film gets my sympathy for these children. It allows me to experience the ordeal through these children's eyes and the transcending performance by Yuya Yagira, who is the youngest actor ever won the best actor award in the history of Cannes Film Festival.

Director Koreeda allows the camera to take the time to shoot and he never rushes from one scene to the next. He let me observe, let me feel, let me be as close to these children as I possibly can, until I can no longer take it and until I am drowned by the frustration and sadness. I become as helpless as those children, because I simply can not resist the urge to help them. That makes me cry. Through out the film, Koreeda masterfully positioned his lenses to ordinary objects around these children, such as simply a finger, a hand, a stain, a foot, or four empty glasses. But through these zoomed in images, I have no trouble to "see" and "feel" what's going on in the whole picture. And it tells the story in a more profound fashion and more personal way, a story you will never forget, along with those images, sometimes, even the music.

The 12 years old boy is played by Yuya Yagira, who has a haircut like the Japanese animation character. Yagira's outstanding performance is original and remarkable, and simply unforgettable. Through him, you see a premature 12 years old boy who is acting as an adult to take care the other kids, meanwhile, he is still a 12 years old kid, who will just like other kids around his age. That's make this movie can be so hard to watch sometimes, because no matter how hard your heart is, it will be softened by watching his struggle to survive. It's hard to leave this movie with dry eyes.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best film I have seen this year.