Regardless of the high ratings and many awards, Nobody Knows is not a very good or well-made film. In fact its something of a mess. There are a number of basic flaws that make make this watered-down and tepid filming of horrifying real-life events a missed opportunity for great cinema.
The real story broke in Japan in 1988. Tt differed from the movie in some crucial aspects. There were five children to begin with and when the youngest died, while the mother was around, she stuffed the dead child in a cupboard where she stayed for over a year. A second daughter was killed months after the mother left. She died not die in an accident as depicted in the movie. The eldest son's friends killed her in a rage because she ate something they wanted to eat. Her body was buried with the help of the friends. The mother turned herself into the authorities two weeks after the story broke in the Japanese and international media and caused a sensation. Why were these crucial plot elements missing from the film? Nobody Knows!!! The writer-director spent 15 years tinkering with the script. I think he killed it in the process. The cinematography was really poor. In the first half, the neighborhood looks respectably middle-class, in the second half a slum. The visual continuity and transition is just not there. I never got a feel of the building or the apartment which was so crucial to the impact of the story. An unnecessary love interest is inserted in the last hour, but the director doesn't even know what to do with that and adds a bit about enjokosai (underage dates) without bothering to elaborate. What a mess it became in the second half. The first half was boring but at least it was coherent. And the film is over two and a quarter hours long which adds to the tedium.
The only positive element I saw was that the child actors gave fairly decent performances. But, I'd suggest watching My Life As a Dog instead of wasting time with this mess.
The real story broke in Japan in 1988. Tt differed from the movie in some crucial aspects. There were five children to begin with and when the youngest died, while the mother was around, she stuffed the dead child in a cupboard where she stayed for over a year. A second daughter was killed months after the mother left. She died not die in an accident as depicted in the movie. The eldest son's friends killed her in a rage because she ate something they wanted to eat. Her body was buried with the help of the friends. The mother turned herself into the authorities two weeks after the story broke in the Japanese and international media and caused a sensation. Why were these crucial plot elements missing from the film? Nobody Knows!!! The writer-director spent 15 years tinkering with the script. I think he killed it in the process. The cinematography was really poor. In the first half, the neighborhood looks respectably middle-class, in the second half a slum. The visual continuity and transition is just not there. I never got a feel of the building or the apartment which was so crucial to the impact of the story. An unnecessary love interest is inserted in the last hour, but the director doesn't even know what to do with that and adds a bit about enjokosai (underage dates) without bothering to elaborate. What a mess it became in the second half. The first half was boring but at least it was coherent. And the film is over two and a quarter hours long which adds to the tedium.
The only positive element I saw was that the child actors gave fairly decent performances. But, I'd suggest watching My Life As a Dog instead of wasting time with this mess.