Nobody Knows

"Did mom really abandon us?"

2004 2h 21m JA

🙌

8.0

BANGER

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★8.0TMDB · 691🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●88Metacritic★8IMDB · 35,056

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

“Did mom really abandon us?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Yuya Yagira
Akira
Ayu Kitaura
Kyoko
Hiei Kimura
Shigeru
Momoko Shimizu
Yuki
Hanae Kan
Saki
YOU
Keiko
Ryo Kase
Hiroyama Jun
Kazuyoshi Kushida
Yoshinaga

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Writers: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, shot by Yutaka Yamazaki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Titi Matsumura. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hirokazu Kore-eda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Yuya Yagira and Ayu Kitaura and Hiei Kimura carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Did mom really abandon us?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0408664 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hirokazu Kore-eda directs. Yutaka Yamazaki behind the camera. Titi Matsumura scores. Hirokazu Kore-eda cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 22 years ago.
2Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, shot by Yutaka Yamazaki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Titi Matsumura. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Hirokazu Kore-eda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Yuya Yagira and Ayu Kitaura and Hiei Kimura carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Did mom really abandon us?".
7IMDB entry: tt0408664 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 19 themes, including "japan", "sibling relationship", "season", "loss of loved one".