Dare mo shiranai (2004)

English title: Nobody Knows.

Synopsis: A single mother lives with her four children in a small apartment. She works during the day and won't let them go to school; she tells them not to leave the apartment, except for the eldest one, who is encharged of doing the shopping; he is often left in charge of the smaller ones during her frequent (and increasingly longer) absences.

Appraisal: This is a correct piece of filmmaking; the acting is uniformly good, which, considering that most of them are children, points to a superb job of directing them. The only problem - or rather limitation, since 'problem' is perhaps too strong a word - is that the whole development and outcome is quite devoid of surprises, except for one or two main plot turns which you probably saw coming if you read about the movie in advance. Also, the stylistic 'coating' can get a little overdone at times, with a slight excess of contemplative scenes duly scored with a melancholy piano tune.

Note on 2010, October 02. While reading about Our Mother's House, I realized the plot similarity between the two films; a web search on both titles yields another similar film: The Cement Garden.

Rating: 64