Inspired by a true story, Nobody Knows gently reveals the intimate world of four children over the course of a year. Shortly after sneaking her children into a new apartment in Tokyo, Keiko leaves an envelope of money and a note telling her 12-year-old son Akira to take care of his younger brother and sisters. They want to go to school, play in the park and make noise, but mom has left clear rules that they are not to leave the apartment. She does drop by from time to time, but less and less often, as she focuses on finding her own meal ticket out of her life of struggle — tricky with four hungry children stashed away. Akira soon realizes she might never come back. When the heat and water are turned off in the apartment, he takes on the role as head of the household, and they begin to venture into the outside world. By subtly sketching out life’s complexities without judgment, director Hirokazu Kore-eda reveals the precious unassuming spirits of the children. As in his other masterful films, After Life and Maborosi, the accumulation of small external details build toward a feeling of transcendence. — PSIFF 2005