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Nobody Knows

Play trailer Poster for Nobody Knows PG-13,  2005,  2h 21m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 92% 91 Reviews Tomatometer 93% 10,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
92% Tomatometer 91 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Preteen Akira Fukushima (Yûya Yagira) and his young siblings have been abandoned by their mother, Keiko (You). Keiko, who has moved in with a new lover, has left Akira in charge of his brother, two sisters and a whole apartment, with little money and food to see them through. Akira and the other children, who were never enrolled in school, struggle to survive without basic amenities as they cope with a strange, solitary existence in a Tokyo apartment building.
Nobody Knows

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Tragic and haunting, a beautifully heart-wrenching portrait of child abandonment.

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Critics Reviews

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David Parkinson Empire Magazine Apr 1, 2006
4/5
Rarely has a kid's-eye view of the adult world been captured with such innocence and insight. Go to Full Review
Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Apr 23, 2005
4/5
The rare film that successfully tells its tale of childhood from the children's point of view. Go to Full Review
Terry Lawson Detroit Free Press Mar 18, 2005
3/4
At its heart, Nobody Knows is a sweet salute to the tenacity and courage of children who are blithely mistreated by adults who should know better and probably do. Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter May 7, 2020
Nobody Knows substitutes an emotional sucker-punch of too much knowledge and no easy fixes. Go to Full Review
Tom Dawson The List Apr 23, 2019
4/5
Although it's perhaps overlong, Nobody Knows is shot with Ozu-esque beauty over four seasons and exceptionally acted by its non-professional cast. Go to Full Review
Catherine Graham Santa Cruz Sentinel Mar 22, 2019
B
Yuya Yogira is remarkable, a screen debut as exciting as Jean Pierre Leaud's in The 400 Blows. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Sep 12, 2018 This movie englobes all virtues cinema has.
Draco W Jun 7, 2018 A strong stroke of realism. Two hours and twenty minutes are a bit of a challenge for a slow burner like this one, but if you start to feel for this little characters, at the end of the movie even a slow born can turn you in ashes. See more
Ron S Jan 12, 2018 12 year old Yuya Yagira won Cannes with this film, enough said... but... Simply a masterpiece, one of the most oustanding works in cinema history, no words can describe its beauty. This is the type of cinema the world needs, this is how you do it. See more
Draco M Aug 2, 2017 Home alone! But not like the Hollywood movie with the same name. Try home alone with 3 siblings, very little money and no adult to help at all. This movie will tug at your heart. A single mother and her 4 kids move into an apartment. But the mother disappears for weeks and longer at a time. The kids have to fend for themselves. They do the best they can. They find people that help them but then tragedy strikes. See more
Draco R Mar 6, 2017 One of the saddest modern Japanese films that shows natural acting without heavy tears flowing.
Abraham S Jun 24, 2015 Beautifully haunting and memorable to every minute, you won't feel time go by as every new little twist and turn leaves you hating the mother and hurting for the children, who act so well some times one may forget the movie is indeed scripted. Where Korean cinema gets to the point and isn't all that nasty when it comes to true love romances and reality dramas, Japanese cinema hits home and hits home hard. Nobody Knows is a hidden gem amidst the J-Flicks that just do not quite make the cut. See more
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Nobody Knows

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Movie Info

Synopsis Preteen Akira Fukushima (Yûya Yagira) and his young siblings have been abandoned by their mother, Keiko (You). Keiko, who has moved in with a new lover, has left Akira in charge of his brother, two sisters and a whole apartment, with little money and food to see them through. Akira and the other children, who were never enrolled in school, struggle to survive without basic amenities as they cope with a strange, solitary existence in a Tokyo apartment building.
Director
Hirokazu Koreeda
Producer
Hirokazu Koreeda
Screenwriter
Hirokazu Koreeda
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Engine Film Inc., Bandai Visual Co. Ltd., Cine Qua Non Films
Rating
PG-13 (Some Sexual References|Mature Thematic Elements)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 4, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$683.6K
Runtime
2h 21m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR
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