Nobody Knows

Recently I saw a film that was more haunting than any horror film I'd ever seen. And it wasn't even a horror movie. "Nobody Knows" is a Japanese film based on a true story in which a mother abandons her four children in an apartment and leaves them to fend for themselves.


Their mother comes back only once for Christmas bringing them presents, then leaves again for months on end without a word, except for sending a wad of cash. She does all this as if it were the most normal thing for a parent to do. It's a shame that no adults know about their situation, and even the landlady doesn't say or do anything when she becomes suspicious after they stop paying rent.

The kids carry on with their lives as if nothing is wrong. Only the oldest, Akira, understands the gravity of their situation. He manages the money and shops for groceries. The next oldest, Kyoko, does the laundry and plays on her miniature toy piano. Yuki likes to color. Shigeru plays videogames. At one point, they make friends and even invite them over. Akira meets a girl. They are normal kids living normal lives, but not quite. There is something wrong with this picture.

Aesthetically, the film is pleasant, soft, and light. It tiptoes its way through the story. It is both haunting and dream-like. I love how the film shows progression of time through close-up shots of Akira's sneakers, which go from brand-new white to gray to filthy black through the course of the film. There is a great sequence when the kids go outdoors for the first time after the winter, on a beautiful new spring day. The sequence is pure joy to watch, and you can almost smell the fresh scent of spring in the air. I love the shot of the kids' shoes as they run across the pavement, how they go to the store and pick out their favorite snacks, and how Shigeru brings back a plant from the playground. It's scary that they get so much joy from things that other kids take for granted everyday.

Their living conditions slowly deteriorate as the apartment gets messier and the utilities are shut off. Towards the end of the film they are living in filth. One of the kids, Yuki, dies. It's a loss of innocence moment for kids who are already dealing with things beyond their age. I was taken aback by how quickly they moved on with their lives. The ending shows them settling into a kind of routine - it's summer, there's a sense of carefree in the air - they almost seem happy.

But there is no resolution here, no Hollywood happy ending. The only resolution there seems to be is that this is their life, and that they've accepted it. There's a sense that things might get better - Akira has made a friend who is sympathetic of their situation - but that is all the film leaves us with. There is no sense that the mother will come back anytime soon, or ever at all. She has forgotten about her children. She doesn't know about Yuki's death. She might never know. She might never see her remaining children ever again.

Immediately after seeing the film, I felt haunted. By Yuki's death. By these kids living in that filthy apartment. By the thought of them going on like this indefinitely and eventually vanishing into oblivion.