In Tokyo, the reckless single mother Keiko (You) moves to a small apartment with her twelve years old son Akira Fukushima (Yûya Yagira) and hidden in the luggage, his siblings Kyoko (Ayu Kitaura),Shigeru (Hiei Kimura) and Yuki (Momoko Shimizu). 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.

"Dare mo Shiranai" is a sensitive movie based on a true and very sad story. The performances of the children are amazing, highlighting the look of Yûya Yagira, and the drama is developed in a slow, but suitable pace. The direction is effective and the music score is absolutely adequate to the film. However, living in Rio de Janeiro, where we see homeless children begging on the streets everywhere, the terrible situation of Akira and his siblings does not impress the way it certainly does in First World countries. The abandoned children of the film have an apartment to live and food to eat, what does not happen in Third World countries, where famine children live on the streets in a sadder and unacceptable reality. The open conclusion is a little disappointing, since it does not bring any message of hope or lack of hope to the poor children. It seems that life goes on only. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Ninguém Pode Saber" ("Nobody Can Know")

When I purchased this movie from Amazon, then it was with a high level of expectation, as it had been getting great reviews just about anywhere you looked. And it was supposed to be such a great movie from these reviews.

And now having seen the movie, I can't really claim to see the hype about this movie. Now, I am not saying that the movie is bad or boring, far from it. It is actually an enjoyable movie, however it just wasn't all that spectacular.

You should note that this movie trots ahead at a fairly plain pace, without anything overly excitingly happening throughout the entire course of the movie. The story, as you might already know, is about a group of four children being left alone to fend for themselves in a small apartment in Japan, as their mother leaves them to "go to work" and doesn't come back; simply abandoning her children.

What makes the movie work is the purity and perfection in the acting performances put on by the four children in the lead roles. They really impressed me, and it was worth watching the movie for. The story itself become a secondary aspect to me, as it wasn't all that interesting. And at points the director, Hirokazu Koreeda, simply skips over some of the topics without delving too far into exploring them, and that made certain parts of the movie come off as rushed and not given the proper attention or screen time.

The characters in the movie were nicely detailed, and again nicely portrayed by the children hired to play these roles. It is characters that you immediately form a sort of bond and sympathy for, and you actually do ride along with them on their individual victories, triumphs and failures.

"Nobody Knows" is a nice movie, but personally I didn't get the hype around it, as I have seen far better movies. Oh, and a fair warning, note that the movie is rather long, at 140 minutes, or at least it seems long and to go on for a very long time because of the speed the movie progresses at.

"Nobody Knows", directed by Hirozaku Koreeda, is a compelling film that will grab the viewer's attention from the start. The film, based on a real incident in Japan is one of the saddest accounts in memory about children's abuse by uncaring parents.

If you haven't seen the movie, maybe you would like to stop reading.

When we first meet this family, Keiko, the mother, and Akira, are seen bringing their things to the tiny apartment they have rented. Little by little we see two young children emerge from two huge suitcases, at the risk of suffocating, and another one that is waiting at a train station. This mother and the four children seem to be happy being together. Since the lease is for only two persons, the other kids must be quiet, as they don't want to bring undue attention from the landlord and his wife, who also live in the complex.

We realize Keiko's love for her children comes second to her life as a woman of loose morals; she may be a prostitute, although it's left to the viewer's imagination what she does after she leaves the apartment. Akira, being the oldest, is in charge of the other three. It becomes clear these four children are the product of different fathers. Yet, all four function as though they have the same set of parents.

Keiko, who appears to be just another kid, thinks nothing in leaving these four to fend for themselves, while she is going out of town with her present beau. Keiko is the epitome of cruelty. How can a mother even dream of abandoning these young kids and expect Akira to assume full responsibility for the situation?

Akira, is a study of maturity beyond belief. Only in that type of society, someone like this boy can exist. Akira is seen in his daily routine going to the store and cook for the siblings and the mother, while she's still around. Akira realizes he has a responsibility, as he never resorts to stealing, even when he becomes friendly with some bad kids from his area. Akira realizes he is the head of the household and must protect those that have been placed under his care, something the real mother has neglected to do.

The film is a document about children's abuse and cruelty. Mr. Koreeda has been blessed with a cast that do miracles for him. Yuya Yagira, does an incredible job as Akira. All the children appear to be non professionals, but under the guidance of the director, they make us believe they are the abandoned children living alone and eking out a living for themselves.