Before I watched it I wasn't even aware of these circumstances some children grow up in. Yet very wonderful, this story is also quite shocking and very horrible. You don't want any kid out there to have ever go through this. Director Hirokazu Koreeda, who also wrote the story, has found a way to tell this story as if you're there not only as a witness, but as one of the kids. As a viewer you really come to feel for the characters and the situation they are in. You almost feel part of them yourself. Bringing attention to small details by zooming in on tiny little gestures, the camera seems to show every aspect. I loved how Kyoko's nails, the eldest daughter of the family, were painted red by her mother and then after their mother left, Koreeda put the focus on her nails again, one time with the nail polish still on and one time with almost nothing left. Both showing how long their mother has left as well as how now she's gone Kyoko's nails won't be painted red anymore. Also the camera shows the children's feet a lot of times making you feel a lot closer to them. You see them run around, full of life. Not only giving great insight in how these children live their lifes, Koreeda also succeds in capturing the beauty of the city that is Tokyo. He shows this city so big that it makes you realise you probably never would have thought there are kids out there making a living all by themselves. The acting in this film was perfect. Both very quiet, intimate and subtle. Yûya Yagira exceeds as the oldest son, Akira. He carries the film with his powerful performance. Watching him go through all this, you can only imagine how it must feel like when this is your real life situation. Yagira is very moving being capable to show the hurt he goes through on the inside by the way he looks with his eyes, speaks and moves. All of the other children are played tremendously good as well. Little Yuki looks very sweet and Saki, the girl who befriends them, is like Yagira, being able to tell so much by saying nothing at all, but just using her facial expressions. Also the mother who abandons her family is portrayed very well by actress You. She really is like a real mother being very aware of the situation she puts her family in. She managed to give way very well to showing to be both funny and caring, but also hurt by not being able to give her children the life she wants them to live. Her character seemed very similar to the mother in the film Anche Libero Va Bene. Overall this film reminded me the most of Hana To Arisu. The cinematography was quite the same and the characters were quite similar being very silent, but at the same time showing so much by the way they moved and interacted with each other.What is it about?
A young boy, Akira, moves to a new apartment together with his mother Keiko. To the owners of the complex they introduce themselves as a one parent family with Akira as the only son. Soon the viewer finds out Akira isn't Keiko's only child. In quite a disturbing moment, the two open up their two suitcases and two little kids pop out. Mother only aks them if it was very hot to be in the suitcase that long, to which they answer yes, very. It's just the beginning of many more disturbing moments to come. After Akira picks up the oldest sister from the train station the three children, besides Akira, are being told by their mother that they can never leave the house for noone can find out more than one child lives in the apartment.
Almost every day Akira goes out shopping for groceries as his mother works til late in the evening. When one time Akira wakes up he finds a note that his mother has left without knowing when she'll be back. Luckily, she comes back after four weeks, but this is only for a couple of days. She then leaves again, but it stays unclear if she'll ever return again. As the oldest of the children Akira takes good care of his siblings, the question is however, how long he can be able to do this.Final Verdict: *****
One of the most beautiful films I ever came across, this film happens to show exactly what it is I so love about cinema. The story, the characters, the way everything looks. This film truly succeeds in being perfect. When you watch it you feel so sad and feel the emptiness of these kids' future. You have no idea what will happen to them next as everyday is a new day of survival and struggle. The idea that some kids really live like this, all by themselves without a parent to watch over them, is something I can't even begin to imagine. The title just sums it all
up. These four children living together without anyone knowing. It's quite a scary thought. When the youngest of the four, Yuki, is taking outside for her birthday she is so mesmerized by everything she sees. Being locked up for days, living in the apartment that to them is their whole world. It's very disturbing to watch these kids go through all this. At the end something happens that is so devastating, it broke my heart watching it. This story is so overwhelming and to some kids this is their truth, their everyday reality. A real eye opener Koreeda has delivered a wonderful piece of cinema that everyone should see even if it just to be informed and made aware things like this really happen in our world today.
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