I have to admit that I was surprised whilst watching 'Nobody Knows' as to how engaged I was kept throughout the film - especially for a relatively slow-paced film with nothing in the way of any truly dramatic scenes. In this respect the film had an almost poetic tone; helped along by its gentle and melodic soundtrack. The child actors were superb throughout - especially Yûya Yagira who carried the film tremendously. However, for the younger ones I'm not sure there was so much acting involved, as just 'being' on set. Still, Hirokazu Koreeda did well to direct them appropriately. The mother was also good in capturing the immature and implicitly selfish nature of her character - a character that is unfortunately representative of too many other women in our juvenile consumerist societies. However, the quality that truly carries the film so far is the fraternal love and care amongst the siblings - there is no quarrelling, arguing or fighting; in one scene Akira is keen to uphold the secret of Santa for the good of his younger siblings, at other times he continues to provide for them throughout by means of shopping, cooking and fetching water.

So far, so good, but what lets this film down is its inconclusive (and also quite dark) ending with respect to the overall message it conveys as to these children. Some *spoilers* are contained ahead. On reflection it is easy to see that all of the adults that came into the lives of these children failed them - first their father/s, then their mother, and then the store owner and his staff, the landlord, the neighbours and even the baseball coach all failed to look into their welfare. Yet by the end of the film the message as to our societies' failings is all very vague - instead we're just told that 'you' are the mother. There's no attempt at an explanation as to why this mother abandoned her children, or how we have created societies where people are so detached from one another, or how we might reasonably go about doing something about it - there is not a positive adult role model in the film we can learn from. Some people might even read the film as suggesting the (remaining) children are actually quite content with their lives.

Continued *spoliers* ahead. My biggest concern though is the dark ending with respect to the death and burial of the youngest of the siblings after she fell off a chair. Her older brothers and sister might not be to blame for their naivety in taking matters into their own hands and organising the burial in such a simple manner, but the fact remains that this a highly inappropriate, disrespectful and even offensive manner in which to bury a person; and a child too. In Christianity we are taught that the body is a vessel for the Holy Spirit and this is one reason why we undertake a respectful service at funerals; praying for the soul of the deceased and having the priest bless the coffin, the grave etc. To finish on this dark note and leave this issue open to people's own interpretations (many of whom in Japan will not be familiar with Christian teaching) is not a respectful conclusion and sends out mixed messages as to the respect for the souls of the dead. This is a shame, because I felt the film had the potential to say much of help and interest with a story that was afterall inspired by true events.