Know what's pretty funny?


I remember watching this back in 2005. I re-watched this again just recently with a friend fr. Japan. He was telling about the reactions of some American friends of his, & how blown away by how stupid some of them were. Examples:

- How come Akira doesn't have common sense? He coulda' asked for help! Esp. when his sister died!

- If I were in the older dude's shoes, I woulda just abandoned ship. When survival instincts kick in, you help only yourself!

- How come they don't cry?

- How come they don't talk a lot?

- Why aren't they angry? They keep waiting for Mommy! They should hate her!

- When I was 12, I had more reasoning than that!

- He's a stupid boy for no cleaning out the apartment.

& my fave:

- 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!

reply

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!!

reply

They changed a few things in the movie if you look at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_four_abandoned_children_of_Sugamo

This is the real story of what enveloped.

Stated in the movie he didn't want to go to the authorities because they would be split up and he wanted everyone to be together.
He was an uneducated 12 year old who probably doesn't have the knowledge of good nutrition and he just bought food from a local convenience store

Also the younger sister actually was beaten to death by a friend of Akiras which would also make Akira even more reluctant to call police.

reply

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."

reply

[deleted]

Ever heard of putting SPOILERS in your heading?

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

reply

I know right? Gave away chunks of the movie...the sister...wth?!

reply

Unbelievable! The things Americans say, and I'm one so don't start. We are filled with such bravado from watching too many Hollywood films.

First, and this is most important: THEY ARE CHILDREN! SMALL CHILDREN! If children were that smart, then they wouldn't need parents. What's really sad and frightening about the mindset of the people who made these idiotic comments is that these people may become parents soon and they actually believe this nonsense.

Second, this is what the movie was about. It was about the emotional bonds of family and the unconditional love small children have for their mothers. The oldest child had bonded with his mother to such an extent that he felt it was his obligation to assume the duties she assigned him. The mother basically brainwashed him. Also, there is a difference in Japanese culture and American culture. I doubt American children would have been so quiet for all those months. What was really sad about the movie's story was that the children were basically very good children and very obedient. Abusive mothers often have children like this. These mothers psychologically *beep* their kids by holding back love and attention to the point where small children will do anything in order to please the parent. The scenes with the mother were very important. She was very playful with them and made a game out of everything. And she told them a lot of lies and filled their heads with fantasies. Any social worker here in America will tell you that even horribly abused small children would rather go back to their mothers than stay in a foster home that is probably safer.

The people making comments are grossly misinformed. Small children can be easily manipulated. It's only teens who rebel and will tell their parents where they can go.

reply

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."

reply

I think the oldest son did tell someone (I can't remember who, maybe when he was asking the convenience store woman for a job) that they were taken away from their mother once before and were all separated and it was really difficult to all get back together.

reply

[deleted]

Good theory.

reply

I think LockedHarpie has trouble admitting that many his fellow Americans have a pitifully simplistic understanding of the harder side of life because they've never tasted it. As an American myself, it wasn't until I sought out such things that I came to understand.

Anyone who can watch this film, which closely mirrors actual events (not just in Japan but around the world, and yes even in America), and come away complaining about the actions of the children is simply ignorant. Ignorant to the point that they need to stop talking about stuff and get to experiencing stuff. Spend a couple months in Africa or something.

reply

You don't have to go to Africa to find kids in this situation. There are plenty of families living in poverty in the US where the children have to take on responsibilities far beyond their ages. It's the middle and upper-class families who don't have to worry about their day-to-day survival. I would rather recommend volunteering at a homeless shelter or battered women's shelter in your own city.

reply

Also, healthier food is more expensive. Fresh food doesn't last as long, and as you mentioned, they didn't have electricity or anything to cook the food with. Typically, unhealthy food is cheaper in the long run because it can last longer and is made with cost-cutting and, at times, health-threatening shortcut ingredients.

To the person complaining about the boy buying noodles...
I'm not sure about in Japan, but in the US, ramen noodles like that are some of the cheapest things you can purchase in a typical grocery store. Gum costs more.

reply

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.

reply

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

reply

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.

reply