Know what's pretty funny?

Whereas I kind of agree with you on the common sense deal,,, he did ask for help -- I remember when the money first ran out and he went to a family friend for money -- he barely had anything. The friend also gets him money but he refuses because he thought she "Did things" with the man to get it. When it comes to common sense... they ALL were lacking... I mean the younger sister died -- by falling off a chair -- and the other sister just leaves her there? she doesn't check her to see if she;'s okay?

I am with ya on the abandoning ship --- Why he never went to the cops is beyond me.

I agree that they dont' cry or talk much, and wheras I am not Japanese I don't think it is their custom do cry as freely as americans do.

I noticed the unhealthy food, too, not htat it was unhealthy, but why was he spending so much money on cup noodle shi& -- I mean it feeds 1-- there are 4 of them. WHo gives a shizzle if the younger boy wanted noodles-- can they afford them?

You're laborers, you're supposed to be laboring! That's what you get for not having an education!!

Dude, what the hell? They are abandoned and neglected kids. You can't expect them to AUTOMATICALLY cry and beg to authorities. People don't always do what some guy or girl on the internet thinks is the obvious thing to do. They were young children, left alone trying to survive as best as they could. The boy didn't know about nutritious food, he was just trying to keep alive.

Abused children do not always hate their abusive parents. In fact many of them are loyal to their parents no matter how many times they get mistreated.
Plus a lot of kids would not ask for help for fear of being separated from each other. Kids get USED to abusive, dysfunctional situations. It's horrible and scary but it becomes normal. It's the same thing when people say, "Why doesn't she just leave that abusive man." Because they do not know what the situation is like and cannot understand the concept of traumatic bonding.
Things are never that simple.


He said,
"Just put your feet down child,
'Cause you're all grown up now."

[deleted]

Ever heard of putting SPOILERS in your heading?

"We begin bombing in five minutes." Ronald Reagan, Aug 11, 1984

Why are they only eating unhealthy food?! Doesn't the oldest dude know that kids need healthy food? It's his fault they were so malnourished!

What?! I know people who are full grown adults who still don't eat properly! In theory you COULD eat ramen and not be so malnourished that you die from falling off a chair. The thing is that they didn't have the money to pay for the food. Besides they didn't have running water, gas, or electricity. Cooking food would of been impossible. And eating raw veggies probably wouldn't help their appetites are all. To eat "healthy food" without gass or water would probably mean eating out everyday. They don't have that money.

I think everything fall in the place of realistic other than the lack of crying. But I think that was the choice of the director to not have any. We know it is all sad, it could of gotten cheesy. Besides, if the kids grew up in a small apartment, they probably had gotten use to not throwing temper tantrums.

As for cleaning, sometimes the house looked cleaner in the next scene over the last. I think what made the house so stinky was from the kids not knowing the when to take the trash out, not knowing how to clean (aka scrubbing the sinks with bleach, using cleaning products) properly. Most 12 year olds today don't clean anything.

And yes, the kids were angry with their mother. DUH! The oldest son said his mother was selfish when she came back after a month. Then when he got the letter from his mother at the end, the son didn't show a hint of excitement. It would be too tacky for the kids to be sitting on the floor crying screaming "I hate mommy."

I'm sorry to hear that many people misunderstood this film, as pointed out by "next-lover". I saw it in Japanese, so I don't know how it appeared with subtitles, but perhaps the translations did not make clear some of these points.

Akira states clearly to the sympathetic convenience store employee that he can't go to the authorities because the siblings would then be separated. In fact, he says this happened once before and it was very bad.

The apartment gets filthier and filthier. Certainly cleaning would not be on top of their list. But they have no electricity, and no water, and money has to be spent on food, not bleach and soap. Under such conditions, even most adults would be slack on cleaning.

The UNHEALTHY food?! Well, of course they are kids, and they've had no education. But Akira does have a basic sense of what meals should be, and in the beginning feeds his siblings a reasonable diet. Later, however, they have no way to cook or preserve food. You notice that the instant ramen is brought home from the convenience store already heated up, which they can no longer do at home. Also, the fresh vegetables and meat that Akira buys at the beginning are more expensive in Japan that the junk food they wind up eating later. Good food costs more that junk. It's simple.

Why are the kids quiet? Just about the only training the kids have had is to be invisible.

Angry? Of course they are. The older kids show their anger in several scenes.
So why do they want their mother back? Because she's all they've ever had. This is very common among abused and neglected kids, that they will continue to be attached to adults who've mistreated them. Having somebody who is occasionally good to them is better than having nobody at all.

I found this film very touching and brilliantly filmed, and I am filled with admiration for the child actors.

Someone does mention to them that they should contact the authorities. He didn't want to. I can't remember the qoute but he said that they would be split up like before and it would be a big mess like before. They will be split up by the system.




Im the Alpha and the Omoxus. The Omoxus and the Omega

they did cry - but it was silent. you don't have to hear pain and dispair. you only have to feel it at the deepest point in your soul. being overwhelmed. waiting for the person you've relied on your entire life to return. 12 year olds cant budget; he was trying to provide momentary pieces of happiness in their hell. he couldn't provide but he could make it less painful and more normal. wtf. i can't budget and i'm 26. i can't afford tears because there's hope it will get better. there's a quiet desire it will all be over soon and the mother will rush in the door and fix it all. i think a lot of us have that quiet, unspoken hope that someone will rush in and fix it all.... but at 12 - that should come true. he handled. he cried. he mourned the loss of his mother who abandoned him; he didn't want it to be true. he tried.