Nobody Knows — [Dare mo shiranai], directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan 2004, 141'

The Fukushima family moves into a new apartment. To get the rent, the mother introduces the owner only to the eldest, 12-year-old Akira, the existence of the other three children she conceals for fear of prejudice and complaints from neighbors. Neither of the siblings go to school, and the outside world knows only Akira. When the mother disappears for good one day, leaving the children alone, the 12-year-old must assume the role of caregiver. A slow struggle for survival creeps into the four walls of the apartment, in which only the remnants of bright nail polish and shrinking savings remind of the absent mother. A moving, minimalist portrait of a childhood left to its own devices.

In telling this story, Hirokazu Koreeda drew inspiration from the real events of the late 1980s that took place in the Sugamo district of Tokyo. The Japanese director avoids, however, in Nobody Knows the Cheap Sensation and the tabloid tone. Instead, it focuses on capturing something pure and real: the bonds that bind the siblings together, the attentive look at the characters, and the maturity that the children must have acquired far too soon. The film won the recognition of critics and audiences around the world. Koreeda was awarded two Blue Ribbons by the Tokyo Film Critics Association — for Best Director and Best Film. Playing the role of the eldest son, Akira, 14-year-old Yūya Yagira received the award for best actor at Cannes, becoming the youngest recipient of this distinction in the history of the festival.