Confessions (2010)

This movie really is amazing and left me awestruck, it really is a frightening beauty with really good cinematography and visual elements for a Japanese movie. The plot unravels slowly while giving away certain hints of what is going on bit by bit and is done really well and is put together piece by piece in a outstanding manner. The students are way more obnoxious in this movie than I would have expected from a Asian middle school but to some degree it was necessary. This film really shows the ugly side of human nature how it's sometimes the weak that bully the people that is weaker than them. It was a little bit difficult to believe students in a Asian middle school would act obnoxious as they did in this movie, although I seen far worse in the US but it wasn't difficult to just go with it or stretched so far it was not believable at all. This has different elements put together in a well crafted manner and the psychological aspects of it is very well done, it may seem like a revenge movie or a movie about grief at first but that is only a part of it. What I really liked is how almost none of the characters is nothing like how they may seem at first. It's like you need to be in their shoes or their point of view in order to understand. If this movie was only about revenge than the film would have been over really quick and wouldn't have been as good and would have lacked the character study it needed, but the emphasis on different characters that were involved makes this movie brilliant with good psychological aspects to it. Hatred leads us to look at a very narrow view of things without looking at the whole picture and this is a part of what the plot to this is about. There is no simple and straightforward character in this which plays a big part in this story. This movie really does fit it's positive reputations and is well deserved of it, this is one of my favorite Japanese movie of 2010 from japan. Don't miss out on this brilliantly crafted movie.

9/10

Fmovies: Confessions, directed by one of my favorite Japanese directors, Tetsuya Nakashima, is one of the most disturbing and depressing movies I have watched this year. It is a psychological thriller of a grieving teacher turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back the students who were responsible for her daughter's death.

In the story, the major characters make confessions one by one. The more perspectives from which the murder is looked at, the more we know about the characters and their motives, which may remind the audience of A Stranger of Mine. As the story is unfolded, there are several surprising twists. While making confessions and sometimes touching on the subjects they are ashamed of, some characters refuse to accept the truth, tell lies and point the finger of blame at others to salve their conscience.

The director tries to explore the reasons why innocent children become evil teenagers with no conscience. Some seek attention because they are abandoned or physically abused by their parents. Some become vulnerable owing to their overprotective parents. Some feel lonely because they are nerds neglected and bullied by their peers. Some commit suicide or other crimes because they follow suit. Some tragedies are also attributed to the internet which allows people to gossip anonymously, the mass media which places too much emphasis on violence, and the law which exempts teenage murderers from being punished. Thanks to the convincing cast, the characters become lifelike.

The black-grey-and-white setting, which is very different form the flamboyance of Memories of Matsuko, is stifling and depressing. After watching the film, the images of crimson blood, white milk, snow-white sakura, the bleak classroom, the lifeless homes and the dimly lit school hall will linger in one's mind. Apart from these, the gloomy skies in the movie were reminiscent of the ones in Elephant by Gus Van Sant. Despite the ominous dark clouds gathering overheard, every cloud has a silver lining, which symbolizes that the director still believes in the goodness of human nature, despite its dark side. This belief is also reflected in the scene when the female teacher stares at the strawberry given by a kid and another scene in which she says "your new life has begun".

The mesmerizing classical music, spiced with a hypnotizing female voice, not only creates a shocking contrast to the disturbing scenes shot in slow motion, but also adds eeriness to the story. The sound effects are also memorable. When the female teacher puts down the last stroke of the word LIFE on the blackboard, the ear-piercing sound chilled me the bone. When the bubble pops, we feel hopeless.

The film would have been more gripping if the first confession had been shorter and less talky. Besides, the CG images at the end are mediocre. Also, it is a difficult movie for the faint-hearted to sit through.

On the whole, Confessions is a darkly disturbing, visually stunning and thought provoking movie ruthlessly exposing the root of various teenage problems and the dark side of human nature. After watching the movie, I left the cinema with a heavy heart. It conjured up images of several parricides committed by Hong Kong teenagers recently and I pondered on what had happened to our post 90's generation.

Despite having already read the book and knowing fully well what was coming, I was still shocked. Confessions is a disturbing film, a morbid film and what happens is mind-blowing. It is disheartening, scary even, to see middle school students who are close to demented, with no heartfelt mercy or sympathy, who can kill freely for baffling reasons. At the same time, the adult characters are just as heartless. The teacher, Yuko Moriguchi (played by Takako Matsu) is intimidating – her only purpose in life after the death of her daughter is revenge; far from the typical adult mentor and role model that we are so used to seeing.

But the reason why I gave a higher rating to the film than the novel was because the director, Testuya Nakashima, did a marvelous job at taking a mediocre book with stagnant flow and transforming it into an intelligently crafted suspenseful film that maintains realism and proper flow. The 'blue' look (most obvious in the classroom scenes) and the ominous, monotonous soundtrack just adds to the film's darkness. Though the initial confession by Ms. Moriguchi is rather long winded, the rest of the film will consistently confuse, startle and even upset audiences. You will see children involved in relentless bullying and even cold-blooded murder – the middle school students' performances are astonishingly convincing. By the end of the film, you may feel cheated at such a disgusting and horrifying ending. You will be astounded and maybe even depressed at mankind's depravity – if that was the intention of both the author and director, they succeeded in playing a cruel joke on us all.

Confessions fmovies. Sometimes I feel like I have to watch a lot of Asian thrillers just to find one that really works. For every 50 or so I watch, there will be only one 20th Century Boys or Confessions. The film works on pretty much every level, though it might be a bit hard to follow for some.

The story starts with a pretty simple event. What you're completely unprepared for is that such a simple act will spiral completely out of control into an incredibly twisted series of events. You see...this is one of those movie that will tell (relatively) the same story from different angles and perspectives. That bit may throw some people off, but I promise it all makes sense if you're paying attention. And you should be paying attention, because watching the whole thing unravel is a hell of a lot of fun.

Every movie has at least a couple drawbacks, however minor. One minor thing that kind of irritated me was the frequent use of slow motion shots. I understand using it to emphasize the importance of a shot, but this is just a little out of hand. Also, I wish some of the alternative tellings of events happened more linearly at some points. In some cases results are shown before the audience has a chance to even follow the story line to what leads to said action. But those are both minor nitpicks, really. On the whole, the movie is just plain excellent.

This little stormer of a movie really takes Asian extreme movies in another direction. A revenge movie that will keep you intrigued and interested till the end. The Far East market has been the home of great originality in the terror & horror film markets, and this is one great highlight in that vein.

The film begins in a school classroom where the teacher tells her pupils that she is leaving, and then begins to tell a long tale revolving round her life and the tragic death that haunts her (her "Confession"). This leads to serious repercussions for some of the pupils. Twists and turns in the story then unfold for the viewer as we are retold further confessions to piece it all together.

A very cerebral movie, the direction masks the revenge story at its heart with a very art-house look and indie soundtrack. A very original film, the acting is exceptional especially from the young school kids. Our lead lady who plays the class teacher is mesmerising as she leads the opening long confession scene. It was a very well delivered scene by her and sets the tone beautifully.

The film begins quite psychological but it then does slide into more graphic detail. Takes you by the hand and leads you down the dark heart at its centre. You don't ever seem to know what to expect.

It's great to have such a fresh original movie. Acting, story and direction are superb. A film I'd highly recommend to all who enjoy dark hearted movies.

It's the kind of feeling all over again that makes it a delight to relive moments of a film that's just so steeped with brilliance. It's dark and it's disturbing, a psychological thriller to rival some of the best out there, tackling themes of poetic justice and revenge that's coolly served in perfect tones of subversion, grabbing you by the scruff of your neck with its extended hook from the start and lasting some thirty minutes, before things kick into full gear for a chilling, violent ride that's unflinching in its violence, laced with strong characters filled with perverted motivations all round.

Written and directed by Tetsuya Nakashima and based upon the novel by Kanae Minato, the story's extremely hypnotic and sprawls points of views from multiple characters, each weaved intrinsically with one another and all being uncannily hypnotic in its stylish execution. The hook wraps up everything you'd come to expect from a great thriller, and that riveting introductory classroom scene alone is worth the price of an admission ticket many times over, orchestrating its sound contrast design to perfection where it seems a teacher is unable to control her class, and is nonchalantly attempting to do so until a bombshell is dropped to elicit an automatic silence, and fear.

Takako Matsue (of The Hidden Blade and Villon's Wife fame) plays a schoolteacher whose young daughter was murdered by students identified in her class. Rather than challenging the judge's verdict and knowing jolly well that a juvenile is protected by the law against capital punishment, the plan she devices is so devious that it turns the class upside down turning classmates against the guilty, and yet still hitting them where it hurts most, slowly observing and scheming any exploited weaknesses. Probably the best strategy anyone can adopt when dealing with unspeakable evil, and it is this execution of her plan that forms the remainder of the film told from different perspectives in confessional style (hence the title), where a deeper character study gets presented, while smartly fusing social observations about the restlessness of today's misguided teenagers in wanting recognition and being one up against their peers.

Mothers seem to come into play, and the film provokes thought into this aspect of human nature that's so universal. A mother loses her child, another maintains her protective blindness fending provocative charges against her son, while yet another proudly obsesses with wanting the best from her kid that it becomes detrimental to his development. One knows about the power of Mother's Love and the extent they will go to protect their brood, and here the school teacher's severe loss becomes the catalyst for revenge best served cold, while also becoming pawns in a plan best unraveled when you watch the film.

Nakashima's assured direction keeps you glued to every gorgeous frame thanks to its beautiful cinematography and shots that make it picture perfect, supported by an excellent soundtrack to bolster the dark mood created visually, and I just fell in love with the plenty of slow motion used which brings a sense of calming rhythm that betrays the dark undertones that were constantly brewing in the narrative. There doesn't seem to be a wasted frame or scene in the film, each moving the narrative forward in an engaging manner, keeping you guessing what's the next curve ball to be thrown, and silently rooting for justice in whatever form to be meted out, and on the