As far as movie premises go, it’s hard to beat the ingenuity of Hirokazu Koreeda’s Nobody Knows. The film tells the story of 12 year-old Akira and his three siblings as they struggle to survive after their mother abandons them in a Tokyo apartment. That the film is inspired by real events makes it even more peculiar and depressing.
The movie opens with Keiko (You) and her eldest son Akira (Yuya Yagira) moving into a new apartment and unpacking the other siblings, who were carefully hidden in suitcases. Keiko has to hide them from the landlord for fear of being evicted, and this entails no school, no yelling and no leaving the apartment; hardly a healthy environment for four children. She is as much a fellow playmate as she is a mother, wielding her power carelessly and destructively, and most of the responsibility falls on Akira’s shoulders.
When Keiko disappears one day, leaving only a note and a sizeable wad of cash, remarkably little changes in the family dynamics. Akira still shops for groceries, makes dinner and cares for the younger kids. There’s something deeply disturbing about a 12 year-old standing in a grocery store debating whether or not to buy persimmons. The rules slowly break down as the money runs out: bills go unpaid, the kids start to leave the apartment and Akira relinquishes much of the power he held over the family.
Nobody Knows follows an increasingly familiar formula seen in Asian movies of recent years. While beautiful, the pacing is ploddingly slow, and after two and a half hours the viewer really begins to feel the weight of unnecessary story lines and overly long shots. Whereas the three-hour Yi Yi (2000) succeeded with its character depth and human touch, and In the Mood for Love (2000) overcame sloth-like pacing with gorgeous cinematography and brilliantly subdued acting, Nobody Knows never finds a workable angle.
The cinematography and visual themes are notable, focusing mainly on extremities and certain recurring locales, but they can’t sustain the film. After the first hour one is left wondering how many more lingering shots of fidgeting hands or nervously curled toes can be packed into one movie. Occasionally the strategy pays off, especially in one of the closing scenes where Akira’s fear and anguish show most clearly in his jittery fingers, which are the only image on the screen.
A lot of credit for that scene, and the success of the movie in general, must be given to the young Yagira, who is fantastic as Akira. Yagira won the Best Actor award at the 2004 Cannes festival for his role, and he certainly redeems the film. Yagira manages to create a multifaceted character that most Hollywood actors could never match. Akira is quiet, responsible and subservient, but at the same time shows glimmers of humor and signs of the child just under the surface. The scenes in which he desperately seeks approval from his oblivious mother are heart-rending in both her ignorance to his needs and his subtle pain in the face of rejection.
Beyond Yagira the cast is relatively uninspired. Japanese actress You plays Keiko as a caricature, and, with little or no background information, her character comes off as contrived. Akira’s sister Kyoko (Ayu Kitaura) under-acts remarkably well, but the younger siblings seem to rely on being adorable, which is asking a bit much of two children in a 140-minute film.
What the movie most desperately needs is a clear message. Writer/director Koreeda has a great story to work with, but never develops a coherent meaning. There are story lines that are hinted at but never fully developed and enough false starts to keep one wondering how Koreeda chose which ideas to develop. In the end he settles on tragedy as a way out, and though he does it well, it still feels tacked on.
Unlike the inaction of many recent Asian dramas, Koreeda opts for a sudden change at the end, a choice that fails rather impressively. Not all movies have to include drastic action, and Koreeda misses the point in rushing it. Koreeda has an intriguing premise, but while the talented Yagira picks up much of the slack, he cannot carry the film single-handedly. It has its moments, but in the end Nobody Knows just can’t support its weak characters, slow pacing and lack of message.
