Review:
There have been many great revenge films over the years worthy of praise, from Tarentino's Kill Bill films, to Lucky Number Sleven and Law Abiding Citizen, to name a few. Even outside of the States, the South Korean film I Met the Devil deserves a shout and a future review, but staying in East Asia for the moment, we should add one more great title to this prestigious list, and that's the Japanese film Confessions directed by Tetsuya Nakashima.
Nakashima has been responsible for films likes Memories of Matsuko and the more light hearted Kamikaze Girls. However, Confessions is a far cry from these films, both stylistically and in terms of overall tone and delivery. A slow burning psychological revenge drama, Confessions begins by placing its spotlight on one of the primary characters, Yuko Moriguchi, a teacher who has known her fair share of suffering. From a husband diagnosed with HIV to the murder of her young daughter at the hands of two of her students. Once the grieving ends, Moriguchi decides to direct her energy and efforts to ensuring that the students responsible will get their just deserts.
The two students in question are Shuya Watanabe and Naoki Shimomura. The former was the brains of the operation, the latter merely a lacky. Shuya is a bright student with a real talent for science, but this comes from a background of familial neglect as his mother, a talented academic in her own right, abandoned him and his father in favour of her career, while Shuya's father decided to move on with a new family, all but discarding Shuya like an old toy that had lost its novelty. This left the young man with nothing but the memory of his mother walking away, and a stack of science books left to him to act as both inspiration and mentor. Naoki, on the other hand, was the stereotypical new kid, bullied by his peers and babied by his mother. In Shuya, he found the closest thing to a friend, going along with his schemes in a continuous attempt to gain good favour and approval from his psychopathic pal.
The film is divided into sections in an attempt to give audiences a deeper understanding of each of the primary characters and give their unique points of view, an effective method in showing that how we interpret a scene by its ongoings is not necessarily planted on firm ground based on what happens to the individual characters, flipping our initial interpretations on the head . Its this that makes Nakashima just as mysterious and scheming in his film making as Ms. Moriguchi is in her own plans. The film, like the Ms. Moriguchi, Plays it's cards close to the chest, pushing the chess pieces into the right positions before the final strike. The film creates an erie and ominous tone, but also produces moments of thoughtful contentment and understanding by way of flashes into the character's pasts, showing the antecedent causes responsible for individuals growing up with a diminished sense of empathy and compassion. The films effect is augmented by one of the best scores I've heard in a film, effectively using everything from droning shoegaze and dream-pop to alternative rock and more, all used to greater emphasise the series of events. Coupled with some beautiful cinematography and great editing techniques, Nakashima creates a film that leaves a lasting impression.
Confessions does a lot right when it comes to a psychological drama. It does not need obscene amounts of violence or jump scares to produce shock and horror, and it handles its characters in a nuanced fashion that skilfully demonstrates the complexity of people. Its the kind of film that leaves one staring at the end credits with a sense of satisfaction, disbelief and perhaps even awe, all understandable for a film that I feel really hit its mark. Nakashima is a talented film maker whos works speak for themselves, and I would highly recommend starting with this one for new comers. As always, I wish you happy viewing :).
Score: 9/10