★★★½ Nobody Knows

[Twinkletoes: 3.5]

This Japanese film is loosely based on a true story about a mother who abandons her four children, and focuses on the efforts of the oldest son (about 13 years old) to keep the family together. The performances in this film were all great. I'm not going to research this thing but I believe that the four kids were all amateurs and they all do a remarkable job. The actress who portrayed the mother did a fantastic job as well. Its been a long time since I've been so disgusted with a film character.

I liked this film a lot but a couple things kept it from being great in my eyes. First, it was just flat out depressing. That in itself isn't a deal breaker for me but it wasn't a cathartic kind of depressing. It was a "man, this cruel world really sucks" kind of depressing that really bummed me out. Second, and somewhat related is the fact that no real resolution was provided. Surely since the story this was based upon became public something must have happened to these children. Did a loving family adopt these kids? Did social services come in and cruelly split these four kids apart? Whether its happy or sad all I'm asking for is some closure.