Nobody Knows (2004/2005) (AKA Daremo
Shiranai)
Note: Don't let this marvelous film
be spoiled for you by reading about it first. Just
go see it then come read the review.
Slow, languid and meditative, "Nobody
Knows" plays like a modern, dazed and subdued "The
400 Blows" while reminding us of just how beautiful
and tragic childhood can so often be. This is one
of the best films you will ever see. This is a modern
masterpiece that, like the Truffaut film, will become
a classic to film cultists and lovers of foreign cinema
in just a matter of a few years.
Based on a true story, one that
is probably, sadly, quite universal, the film tells
the story of four siblings, orphaned by their individual
fathers and eventually abandoned by their sole mother,
left to live alone in a big city in a squalid apartment.
We witness about a year in their lives and their evolution
is simply amazing in its complexities.
But in contrast to "The 400 Blows,"
this film is not angst- ridden, hungry or wanting.
The children here seem to expect nothing. There is
no crying, no anger, no bellyaching. This film is
a slow yet manipulative meditation on childhood and
the loss of innocence. It is one of the most powerful
and stunning films to be seen.
Filmmaker and writer Hirokazu Koreeda
creates the story not by a belabored plot but by a
slow and steady uncovering of moments. There are vignettes
here, yes, but they seem minor and minuscule when
we witness them. It is the overwhelming power of the
combined effect of these moments, like notes in a
symphony, which slowly and dramatically begin to overwhelm
and devastate the audience. A tear here, a laugh there,
a moment of tragedy diverted, a moment unseen and
uncovered later. Koreeda captures moments and provides
us with the drama here by avoiding being dramatic.
If this were a Hollywood film, the
tragic moments would be exposed to us with amazing
special effects. Here, they happen off-screen, only
to be discovered later. It has been said that Koreeda
filmed the children here over a year and this slow,
dramatic aging and progression is evident in the film.
And while the film seems sparse, slow and time-lapsed,
the evolution of the story does not seem choppy, edgy
or modern. This is a evolving picture, not a quick-cut
modernist artistic statement. Koreeda is much more
concerned with his characters than with dramatics
or cool images. His concern washes over us, dragging
us into the characters lives as if we were seashells
being pulled by the tide. The story washes over us
and soon we are lapping on the shore in wave after
wave of moments.
The actors in this film are simply
amazing. The performances of the children in the cast
are so honest, raw and realistic that it is often
hard to believe this isn't a documentary. The deft
touch Koreeda has with his young cast is amazing.
It seems so light and well-crafted that we almost
believe the cameras were simply turned on and the
children just did what they normally would do anyway.
And then there's the surprising and perfect performance
by the singularly named You as the mother. Like a
young, Asian Carol Kane, You provides a character
that we simply cannot hate. Again, if this were a
Hollywood film, the mother would be played for all
her ignorance and destructiveness to the highest extreme
by someone like Uma Thurman or Cathleen Keener. Instead
here she is played as quirky, cute, and goofy. We
can't hate her. For all her ignorance and bad choices,
we only feel sorry for her. She's an amazing character
and You performs her perfectly.
"Nobody Knows" is a film that haunts
its audience. Its tender slices of moments that evoke
happiness and sweetness eventually evolving into moments
of sorrow and tragedy will overwhelm you, immerse
you in sadness and leave you trembling with grief.
The final image of the film is a
direct homage to "The 400 Blows," But where Truffaut
challenged his audience by freezing on the face of
Jean-Pierre Leaud, eyes hungry and wanting, Koreeda
freezes on the image of the backs of his characters.
We hover behind them like angels, looking over them.
The smallest child looks back at us briefly in this
freeze frame. He wonders if we really see. He wonders
where we, the angels... the adults, are. He wonders
if we are really there. And if we are... why have
we seemingly abandoned him and his siblings. This
question is the heart of "Nobody Knows." It's a question
that haunts the viewer long after the film has ended.
Notes:
In Japanese with subtitles.
Also with Yuya Yagira (as Akira),
Hiei Kimera (as Shigeru), Ayu Kitaura (as Kyoko) Momoko
Shimizu (as Yuki) and Hanae Kari (as Saki).
Yagira has won several awards including
Best Actor at Cannes in 2004. The film and many of
the performers have been nominated for and won several
awards.
Filmed chronologically in Tokyo
over the period of almost one year.
The film debuted at Cannes in May
of 2004. It began its official run in Japan in August
of that year and in the U.S. in February of 2005.
Viewed at the Dobie in April 2005.
