Film Review with Robert Mann – Confessions

18th January 2011

Confessions *****

Best known for his critically acclaimed films Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko, Japanese writer and director Tetsuya Nakashima has developed a reputation for creating surreal candy-coloured worlds full of chaos and confusion in his films. However, the latest effort from the genre-busting auteur is a very different animal to the filmmaker’s past works, being a considerably darker but no less chaotic piece of work.
Based on the award winning debut novel by Kanae Minato, Confessions – which is both written and directed by Nakashima – sees the director reign in his impulse for more colourful visuals to deliver a film that is no less impressive in the visuals department but more driven by darker imagery and intense drama. Very different to the filmmakers’ other films it may be but it is not less critically acclaimed and has, in fact, attracted so much acclaim that it has been selected as Japan’s official entry in the Best Foreign Film category of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards (for which the full list of nominees will be announced on 25th January) and has been nominated for Best Film at the 34th Japan Academy Prize (Japan’s equivalent to the Oscars). The film also received a hugely positive reception when it received its UK premiere screening at last year’s Film4 Frightfest All-Nighter, held last October in London’s Empire Cinema. With such acclaim having already preceded it and the film also receiving a fair amount of awards attention, you would definitely expect Confessions to be something quite special and that it truly is.

Yuko Moriguchi (Takako Matsu) is a middle-school teacher who is struggling to cope with life after her four year old daughter has been found dead. While the death has been ruled to be an accident, though, the teacher knows otherwise. Her daughter was murdered and the two murderers are students in her class. No one believes her claims, of course, but this doesn’t stop her from waging all out psychological warfare on those she knows to be responsible – Shuya Watanabe (Yukito Nishii), a troubled individual whose desire for reconciliation with the mother who abandoned him as a child is driving him to commit increasingly sadistic acts, and Naoki Shimomura (Kaoru Fujiwara), an unwitting accomplice who turns out to be far more guilty than the mastermind behind the murder himself. What she doesn’t count on, however, is the long term ramifications that has her quest for revenge will have, the repercussions of the one evil act by the two boys being far reaching and many, affecting the lives of many including another fellow student, Mizuki Kitahara (Ai Hashimoto) and Naoki’s mother Yuko Shimomura (Yoshino Kimura), who is finding herself tested to the limit by the erratic and self destructive behaviour of her now traumatised son and blames his teacher for everything that has happened.. Through the personal confessions of Miss Moriguchi, Mitzuki, Miss Shimomura, Shuya and Naoki, the true effects of one evil act begin to reveal themselves, highlighting an entire world that is troubled and just how hard life really is for everyone involved.

In virtually respect, Confessions is a perfectly made film. For a film where plotting is so essential, the writing never fails once, with Nakashima delivering a completely unpredictable storyline that is packed full of real surprises and genuinely shocking developments that you definitely won’t see coming, and building up to a climax that that really won’t let you down. Dealing with some very disturbing themes in a very sensitive manner, Nakashima also offers an in depth exploration of the repercussions of the actions of a few individuals and also the burdens that can come with being a teacher to troubled students and goes far deeper than you might expect based on the premise, explaining the motivations of the characters in tremendous detail. The characters are all broken and fractured in some way and even as they commit or plan to commit horrific atrocities we are still able to view them as human beings with living relatable motivations than rather than evil incarnate. They all have multiple levels, none of them necessarily being all bad but certainly not being all good either, rather just shades of grey that can’t really be classified either way. This, combined with acting that is excellent across the board – the way Takako Matsu depicts her character calmly rather than aggressively going about enacting her vengeance is particularly effective – makes for interesting, completely three dimensional characters who manage to be relatable even when they are doing things that are very hard to relate to. A relationship that develops between Shuya and Mitzuki, while seeming rather twisted, actually proves quite convincing, two individuals who feel out of place in the world seemingly finding one another, or so it appears for a while, the ultimate outcome of their relationship being a tragic one. The way the perspectives of different characters intersect with one another is magnificent and the way Nakashima integrates a variety of dialogue styles – the dialogue being very poignant and memorable – is also very effective. An interesting story told in a different and fresh storytelling style, the approach of telling the story through a series of confessions works extremely well, with the slightly non linear (events are mostly in chronological order but it doesn’t entirely play out that way) storytelling format makes for an altogether more interesting film overall. And the level of honesty on display makes this a film that has much to say about the world we live in and the pressures of modern society, dealing with some really serious issues that really do apply to the world we live in. This is also a film that really screws with your head, playing with our minds just like the teacher plays with the minds of her students, and one that doesn’t necessarily give you all the answer you’re looking for, encouraging you to think about what is going on. Often tragic and sometimes heartbreaking – a statement that is particularly true of the scene where Miss Moriguchi recalls the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death, the whole thing is very tense and poignant and the way Nakashima builds up tension is masterful, this being a very unnerving film to watch, even though I should make it clear that is in no way a horror film, rather a psychological drama.

It isn’t just the writing that is excellent, either, but the visuals as well. This film boasts some of the most original and innovative camerawork I have seen in a long while. The cinematography is stunning, the camera work stylish and the editing excellent, and the shots achieved being simultaneously beautiful and haunting, whether they be elaborate – shots that depict the students running about portray a sense of silent menace while the killing scenes depict the full horror of the events and portray the harsh and brutal truth without feeling the need to portray anything in graphic detail, Nakashima avoiding needless gory detail in its depictions of killings in progress – or simple – reflections in mirrors on street make a change to normal walking shots while a shot showing rain falling on a railing is vividly captured. The darkened visuals – unlike Nakashima’s past works, the visuals here are not very colourful – give the film a very bold look and all the shots manage to look vibrant and be extremely memorable. Nakashima uses all the filmmaking tools at his disposal to deliver something that is really quite spectacular and this also includes great use of sound. In scene sound is captured perfectly while a soundtrack that includes tracks by Radiohead, acclaimed Japanese experimental rock band, Boris, and this year’s Mercury Prize winner, The XX is perfectly pitched. The chosen songs and the hauntingly beautiful musical scoring all perfectly convey and emphasise the moods and tones being portrayed in the images on screen. So, Confessions is a work of masterful psychological tension from start to finish that makes for a very chilling and unnerving viewing experience but also one that is very rewarding. A very dark and sinister but also haunting and beautiful film that delivers a very different and unique take on the revenge movie – unique being a word that applies to this film in a big way – it isn’t hard to see why this film has been chosen for submission to the Oscars and this film definitely has what it takes to win.

Confessions opens at selected cinemas in the UK on 18th February 2011.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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