[Confession] Confessions
My title is so redundant. Haha! I'm so sorry about that but it happens to be that the movie I'll be reviewing today is a Japanese movie Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima -- Confessions! (告白 Kokuhaku)
I was looking through the internet for an Asian movie I could enjoy but since I’m rather picky in choosing a movie - I had a hard time looking. Until I came across the movie Confessions written and directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. Before I watch a movie, I would first be looking for reviews to know whether or not the movie is worth watching and I was happy to accept the challenge after catching lots of good reviews about it.
Now here’s the synopsis of Confessions without spoiling anything:
Middle school teacher Yoko Moriguchi’s (Takako Matsu) life comes crashing down after the murder of her 4 year old daughter. Eventually Yoko Moriguchi suspects some of her own students to have been responsible for her daughter’s death. An elaborate plan for revenge then ensues, including confusing the students psychologically to devastation.
I specifically have a sweet tooth for mystery/thriller/suspense movies that has unpredictable endings! And fortunately, this movie reminds me why I watch movies in the first place.
It reflects a lot of today’s situation on children, family, love, society and our life itself. Confessions have characters narrating like they are writing in a diary which I found creative because it clearly shows their deepest thoughts rather than just hearing them from another point of view. We clearly realize their motives once we settle on hearing what their character has to say and explains what they are going through. The sequence of each confessions were placed tailored-fit that I found myself gasping in surprise after realizing a hint from a previous dialogue/scene. The cinematography greatly applies to the movie’s atmosphere since it was very dark and the slow-pacing trick helped concocting the mystery.
What I commend the most was the superb acting! Since I’m an acting enthusiast, I greatly value emotions portrayed in the movie and gladly, I was astound with most of the characters - especially Shuuya and Miss Moriguchi - who got the most challenging roles. Those 13-year-old students did a great job albeit I found in an interview that some of them were first time actors. Good job!
This is also a time where I would mentally slap myself for not thinking of a story like this! It's a ONE OF THE KIND story that gets you the chills from the first scene up to its last. If I would be given a chance, I would turn this movie into a stage play and god bless its audience! You'll see a play worth watching again and again.
But what really bothers me most was the ending. Like all the other mystery/psychological twisted movies I’ve watched, I always research about the ending and would understand it eventually. But with this movie, I was still confused. If anyone of you know what “Just Kidding” means, I would totally love you deep down to my core!
I recommend this to everyone who wants to taste a very dark movie which contains life lessons, surprisingly. And anyone who’s up for a movie which is somehow a disturbed and cynical movie ;)
My Rating:
Plot: 9.3/10
Acting: 9.1/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Characters: 6/10
Uniqueness: 8.7/10
OVERALL RATING: 8.2
NOTE: This review came from my old tumblr account and was posted in November 2013.