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Nobody Knows (Dare mo shiranai)

Dare mo shiranai, or Nobody Knows, its English title is Japanese movie about four siblings who are frequently left by their mother to fend for themselves. It’s based on true events that happened in 80’s Tokyo of a mother who would leave her four children for months at a time to be with whoever she was dating at the time, who usually didn’t know about her kids. While on their own money runs out often which results in the power and water being shut off. They often have no way to contact their mother and when they do she tells them that if they run out of money again to go to one of their fathers (because each child was fathered by a different man). They don’t go to anyone for help because they don’t want to be separated, and though the land lady notices something is up she decides to stay out of it.
The point of view is mainly from the oldest boy, Akira. While his mother is away he is in charge of things and the film centers mainly on his struggle to raise his siblings while still being a kid, which he is sometimes resentful of. There aren’t many characters in the movie because except for Akira the children have to hide themselves away. They aren’t permitted outside except once on their birthday. There is Akira, Kyoko, Shigeru, Yuki, Keiko the mother, and eventually Akira’s friend Saki. The other characters that appear are some of the children’s fathers, market employees, the landlords, and some boys Akira meets. There’s no dramatic lighting, it’s very normal and like you’d find in any home. Because the most of the movie takes place in the families apartment and most of the movie takes place indoors, if the lighting wasn’t natural it was meant to seem so. There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue in the movie, and many scenes are quiet with music playing. Large portions of the film consist only of the children carrying out day-to-day activities like Kyoko playing her toy piano, Akira and Kyoko practicing writing Japanese letters on unpaid bills and old Styrofoam cups, or Akira shopping. Because the movie was filmed in a cramped apartment and to make it seem more real, Nobody Knows was filmed using a handheld digital camera. There are no special camera techniques as its like director Hirokazu Kore-eda really is filming a documentary about a year in the life of these abandoned children. Everything this very simple.
While the film is long and progresses slowly, Nobody Knows is a sad and touching piece of Asian cinema. All of the actors are amazing, particularly the children who spent around a year filming the movie. While the woman who the movie was based upon eventually returned to her remaining children after she got out of jail, here is no resolution at the end. You are left wondering what happens to the ones who survive and if their mother comes home, but in a way it’s better than knowing.

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