Movie Review: Nobody Knows (2004)

"Nobody Knows"

Summary:
A self-centered mother and her four children move into a small Tokyo apartment after being forced out of their apartments. We do not know their backgrounds other than the fact that each child was born from different fathers. Keiko's (the mother) egocentricism and child-like behavior fall into old habits and abandons the children. Akira, the eldest son, soon takes the role of the fatherly figure and soon must face the harsh realities of life. The children begin to run out of money and are forced to use other circumstances to survive.

Review:
Hirokazu Koreeda's award-winning film "Nobody Knows" is based on the tragic 1988 "the affair of the four abandoned children of Sugamo". Koreeda does an excellent job of portraying such a dire event with the film's strong acting and minimalist filmmaking. The film runs around 2 hours and 20 minutes which could be an extremely long time for someone who's not use to the film's very slow pacing. However, the pacing shouldn't turn one away from watching this film; after all, the wait is very enriching and rewarding. The cinematography is good but not spectacular as a Wong-kar Wai film or an Ingmar Bergman film. However, what caught my attention are the lush colors of metropolitan Japan, which is quite important in this film to show how contemporary society is so extremely fast yet people are unaware that tragic event is occurring. Koreeda is heavily influenced by Yasujiro Ozu's (known for his films Floating Weeds and Tokyo Story) filmmaking style as evident in his use of static shots, lack of camera movement, and so on. However, allowing these static shots makes the viewer pays close attention to the little, intricate detail in the film's scenes. Film buff note: Koreeda does use a lot of the stationary tatami shots that Ozu was known for.

The acting in this film is top notch despite many of the main actors' little to no formal acting training. Yuya Yagira (who plays Akira) deserves all honors for his acting abilities and I do hope to see him continue to grow as an excellent acto (He did win the Cannes Best Actor 2004 Award). You's (that's the actual actress's name) depiction of the mother Keiko may seem annoying at first, but it fits well with her character, which makes her seem very child-like rather than as a motherly figure. Although the film has very sparse dialogue, the movements and intricacies of each child's facial feature truly shows how emotion can very well be carried nicely through the scene.

Only a few filmmakers (Yasujiro Ozu, Alain Resnais, and Ingmar Bergman) can truly understand and capture the human soul through film. Despite the hardships of poverty, the children's love for one another is a testament to all that love conquers all. A highly recommended film for all. Do not hold those tears, for life is not worth holding back.

my rating: 5/5

Trailer: