Nobody Knows

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Nobody Knows (誰も知らない Dare mo Shiranai? is a 2004 Japanese drama film based on the 1988 event known as the "Affair of the four abandoned children of Sugamo".The film is directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, and it stars actors Yūya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura.

Nobody Knows tells the story of four children: Akira, Kyōko, Shigeru and Yuki, who are aged between five and twelve years old. They are half-siblings, with each of them having different fathers. The children cannot go outside, do not attend school, and cannot be spotted by outsiders. Their mother ran away and got married, thereby abandoning them, and they were forced to survive on their own. Over time, they can only rely on each other to face the multiple challenges in front of them.

Nobody Knows was first shown at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival on 12 May 2004. It was subsequently released in Japanese cinemas on 7 August 2004. The film was well received by critics, and it grossed over US$2 million worldwide. It won several awards such as the Best Actor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, and the Best Film and Best Director awards at the 47th Hochi Film Awards.

Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda

Produced by Hirokazu Koreeda

Written by Hirokazu Koreeda

Music by Gontiti, Takako Tate

Cinematography Yutaka Yamasaki

Production company Cinequanon, Bandai Visual

Distributed by Cinequanon, IFC Films (USA)

Release dates May 12, 2004 (Cannes) August 7, 2004 (Japan)

Running time 141 minutes

Country Japan

Language Japanese

Cast

Yūya Yagira as Akira Fukushima (福島明?), the eldest son of Keiko. He is twelve years old. His father is a worker at Haneda Airport. He is also the person who becomes the surrogate head of the family, taking care of his siblings.

Ayu Kitaura as Kyōko Fukushima (福島京子?), the oldest daughter and the second eldest child of Keiko at eleven years old. Her father is a musician, and she dreams of owning an actual piano. She is in-charge of doing household chores in the house like doing the laundry.

Hiei Kimura as Shigeru Fukushima (福島茂?), the youngest son. He is very playful, and is the reason why they have to move into their new house.

Momoko Shimizu as Yuki Fukushima (福島ゆき?), the youngest child in the family. She is five years old, and nobody knows who is actually her biological father. She loves to draw and eat chocolate candies. She later dies after falling from a stool, and is buried near Haneda Airport's runway.

Hanae Kan as Saki Mizuguchi (水口紗希?), a high school student. She is a friend of the children, and frequently helps them.

You as Keiko Fukushima (福島けい子?), the mother of the children. She leaves them to marry someone and never returns to see them afterward.

Kazumi Kushida as Tadashi Yoshinaga (吉永忠志?), the landlord of the house

Yukiko Okamoto as Eriko Yoshinaga (吉永江理子?), the landlord's wife

Sei Hiraizumi as the mini-market manager who mistook Akira as a shoplifter

Ryō Kase as the mini-market employee. He gives Akira leftover sushi to bring home whenever Akira comes by the mini-market.

Yūichi Kimura as Sugihara, the taxi driver and a possible father of Yuki

Kenichi Endō as the Pachinko parlor employee and a possible father of Yuki

Susumu Terajima as the baseball coach

Takako Tate as the mini-market teller

Yūji Maeda

Mari Hayashida