windows-romania I honestly don't know what to say. I'm actually crying right now, I've just finished watching the movie and it was outstanding. The actors were amazing, and the story, well... It's one of the best movies I've ever seen, I'm definitely giving it 10 out of 10.After their mom left I wished I could help them in any way possible, it was just heartbreaking to watch (even through it was just a film) and not to be able to do anything :( I'm not going to say anything more, you all NEED to see this movie. You won't regret it, I promise.Hopefully there will be more movies like this one in the future, but less real cases :)

leminhha93 Nobody Knows tells a story of how four children, abandoned by their mother and never officially recognized by authority, struggle to survive on themselves in modern-day affluent Japan. This interesting premise, coupled with the film's wide critical acclaim on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, compelled me into renting the DVD. As the credit rolls, all I was left with were disappointed expectations. Here is why.Character development is what we look for in realist films. With Bicycle Thieves, we feel for the father's desperate struggle to feed his family. With Lilya 4-ever, we feel for Lilya's innocence and pain in being exploited of her dream of a better life. Nobody Knows does a mediocre job, at best, in developing characters that gain interest and sympathy from the audience. Even when the film's primary subjects are children -- the people we always care most about, I did not feel too much of the sadness and worry one is bound to have witnessing a group of children go through hardships and struggle. I did not know what to feel about the brother character; is he supposed to be a caring and courageous brother, or a normal kid who succumbs to peer pressure and just wants to have fun? The mother character is supposed to be a grossly negligent, irresponsible, immature, and loathsome person; yet I could hardly feel anything against her. In other words Nobody Knows's characters are forgettable at best, even when the young actors' performances are absolutely wonderful -- you just wish the script develops the characters in such a way that we can feel more for them.The film's highly realist depiction of the children's day-to-day life also makes it rather uneventful and dull; many scenes just drag on without anything really happening. A 140-minute runtime is probably over the top -- compared to Bicycle Thieves, a film with similar themes that delivers within just 90 minutes. For cinematography and camera-work, I felt perhaps they should focus more on the cramped and messy conditions of the apartment rather than on outdoor shots.In brief, what Nobody Knows delivers is a sad and poignant story about children's vulnerability and the loss of innocence. It gives the viewer powerful emotional impacts as well as perspectives into a human experience. However, what the film does not deliver is compelling character development and gripping storytelling -- something I consider to be of essential importance in making a movie great and memorable. My rating of Nobody Knows: 7 stars out of 10.

bandw This story of four children abandoned in a Tokyo apartment by their mother tried my patience. The oldest child, Akira, was more mature at age twelve than his goofy mother.I found many scenes that could have lasted but a few seconds went on for what seemed like minutes. For example, there are several scenes of Akira running that just go on and on. The movie could have easily been trimmed by an hour. If the goal of drawing things out was to have the audience suffer along with the kids, then the movie was successful on that count. The effect on me was to lose patience and have the potentially powerful emotional content squeezed out. By sheer force of will I resisted hitting the fast forward button.It was up to the young actor Yûra Yagira to carry the movie, and he did an admirable job. I imagine it was the director's skill in being able to get Yagira to express emotion through facial expression and body movement. It was interesting to see Yagira physically mature throughout the film and that was cleverly reflected in his character's development. Yagira was a child at the beginning, but was turning into a young man by the end.The predictability of the story also works against the slow pacing. If you turn four kids loose in a small apartment for the better part of a year with a money supply that has run out, then the result is pretty much inevitable. But any doubt about a conclusion that might have helped keep my attention was removed by a beginning scene that has Akira on a train looking disheveled and wearing a dirty T-shirt with holes in it.I get that this movie makes a comment on the depressing fact that the impersonality of large cities can allow this kind of situation to go unnoticed, or ignored, for so long. But some scenes stretch belief. Surely when the landlord came in and saw what was happening, she would have taken action. One of Akira's reasons for not going to the police or social services was that he was afraid the family would be split up, but I did not sense great closeness among the kids (each had a different father). Losing a sister was certainly not a step in maintaining family cohesion.The score often seemed inappropriate, invoking ironic humor when melancholy was called for.I was impressed with director Koreeda's "Still Walking," but I failed to connect with this movie.

batatas31 I really cannot believe why people like this movie. I've read comments where people are saying that this film is beautiful. Really? Someone could actually look at the suffering going on in this movie and enjoy it, let alone call it beautiful? My major fault with this movie is that is seems almost pointless. Why would anyone want to watch a group of kids suffering for 2 hours, because that pretty much sums up the whole movie. Honestly, you have to be sort of sick in the head to actually watch this film and think, "Wow, I'm so touched. I just watched these kids live incredibly miserable lives... I really enjoyed it. What a great movie." That right there basically sums up the only reason why someone would like this movie, because unlike other sad movies, this movie does not contain values to be learned or at least enjoyable scenes.So to sum it all up, I would only recommend this movie to those who enjoy watching others suffer. I, for one, don't enjoy watching others suffer, and so I give this movie a 1 out of 10.