Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Let's be realistic.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

What a beautiful movie this is. The story of abandoned kids doesn't necessarily be associated with streets and rags. 'Nobody Knows' is one such movies , set in Tokyo, of kids that are result of a careless mothers who abandons them and the struggles they go though. This has taken me through an emotional roller-coaster with out any actual major drama but huge shift in characters maturity. The performance of kids is mind blowing. Story was told in very subtle tone with great intensity. Superb photography and great background soundtracks . There are very less verbal conversations in this movie which makes it easy for an non Japanese like me.

I watched this movie in 2005 on the flight to Osaka. I couldn't believe the story. I couldn't believe that this could ever happen in Japan where children's lives are controlled every minute by teachers. When I got access to Google and checked out the story I couldn't believe this movie story was based on a real life situation. The young lead actor is beautiful, his skills in this story belie what he could do (hope he gets more movie opportunities). The story needs this kind of lead role. Sadly I found the other kids' acting to be basic -- but the story really relies on the lead actor. He needs an Oscar or some award for his work in this movie. Watch this movie. But be sure you are not distracted, watch it from beginning to end. You will be crying at the end. But not necessarily crying from sadness but from pleasure that the kids finally have their act together. But also sadness because they still have a long way to go.

I've seen it for the first time maybe like a year ago but, was just looking through some of it again and noticed how many good scenes there are in this film. It also has great atmosphere that pulls you in partly due to the cinematography and overall realism. The kids acting is very believable. Especially the oldest and the two youngest kids. I guess at some points the two youngest aren't even acting, they're playing themselves and it looks so natural that it greatly increases the realism of the film. After seeing this film I thought I could never be fully immersed in a normal fiction film. I felt like I had watched a documentary but then I remembered that this wasn't a documentary but a fiction based on real events. This is a film that makes you forget you're watching a film. And this is not the case with a lot of films these days for me. The soundtrack is subtle and moving. I'm bothered by the fact that I could have just missed this film and not seen it. I found it on IMDb. Who knows how many other good films are out there that I just missed because there wasn't a big budget promotion for them.

Hirokazu Koreeda's 'Dare Mo Shiranai' tells the heartbreaking story of four abandoned young siblings who struggle to survive in an apartment. The apartment was restricted to two people (where no little children were allowed). It is known that Akira and his mother were the only tenants thus the three other children are living in secret (and are not allowed to leave the apartment or make any noise in case the neighbours got suspicious). While Akira is the only one allowed to leave the apartment, he is forbidden to go to school. After their self-centred mother's long term departure due to her 'work', 12-year-old Akira, the eldest one, serves as a parent striving to provide food for his brother and sisters but he too is only a child and how will he, in a world run by adults, support his siblings? The director tells this unique story in a very heartfelt, sensitive way. 'Dare Mo Shiranai' is based on a true event (which was far more harrowing) but I can see that he might have been inspired by movies like 'Hotaru No Haka' and perhaps William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'. With the minimal use of music, special effects the film has an unpolished look which makes the characters' sense of isolation and despair all the more authentic to the viewer. The whimsical background score is cleverly used and it brings a poetic feel. The child actors are excellent. It is Yûya Yagira who confidently carries the film but each one of these kids deliver very natural performances. It's hard to tell whether they were acting. Moreover because the film is sort of shot in documentary format it is easy to forget that one is watching a film. I wonder how the director got the kids to act so restrained. 'Dare Mo Shiranai' is a beautiful film that depicts the importance of a responsible adult figure in children's lives but it also demonstrates that children too are strong even though inexperienced. Yet, no matter what, the importance of a significant nurturing adult is crucial for a child's development.