Confessions

Ratings: 8.2/10
Film Class: B+
Genre: Suspense Thriller (Japanese)

A grieving teacher who lost her daughter discovered that those responsible for her death are in her class. Spiking their milk packets with HIV, she develops a diabolical plan to bring justice to her daughter's murderers who are protected by the juvenile law in Japan.

One of the best Japanese films I've seen and it ranks top as the most artistic Japanese film I've laid eyes on. The trailer delivered an apt sense of what the film promises, and it turned out way better than my expectations. From the trailer, it felt like a non-serious serious movie, which threatens its acceptability to the general public. Light-hearted music incorporated into a serious movie about juvenile murders, the way I see it, it either makes a movie, or breaks it. In this case, it not only makes it but delivers an extraordinary feel to this seemingly solemn movie. This movie is proof of history in the making, it sets a whole new genre, a whole new class of screenplay.

The cinematography and the choreography were exceptional in bringing out the artistic mood of the storyline. I loved every minute of the film despite it being a dialogue driven movie, narrative style. Compared to the recently viewed Hollywood movie Limitless, the narration of the various characters' confessions were engaging and pleasantly disturbing.

The direction of the movie shifted towards multiple climaxes, defying convention and predictability. And the director was able to fully bring out the most forgivable aspect of an artistic film, absurdity amidst realism. It reminded me of the ending of Black Swan, where everything was still realistic until the very end, there was a drastic change in the perception of realism because the absurdity was merely a metaphoric depiction of what the protagonist was going through.

A mix of Eden Lake (juvenile crimes), Black Swan (artistic) and Death Note (Kira-like characters). The aptly melancholy and shrieking score, the occasional vintage-colored shots, the every once in a while establishing shots of the gloomy sky... everything was beautifully executed to enhance and bring out the mood of the movie. A great watch, a great experience and definitely a great movie to check out if you love deep and artistic movies.

Disturbing, thought-provoking and provocative Japanese movie which may "haunt" your senses for a long, long time...