Japanese Reviews Reviews

Film Review: Confessions (2010) by Tetsuya Nakashima

In the very first episode of the first season of BBC's acclaimed police procedural ‘Luther', the psychotic evil genius Alice Morgan, who is also the series's most interesting character, refers to a black hole when she appears to share a little information about herself to her nemesis/object of obsession, the titular main character. “It consumes matter, sucks it in, and crushes it beyond existence. When I first heard that, I thought that's evil in its most pure.” She explains with a sly grin and fascinated look, “Something that drags you in, crushes you, makes you nothing.”

I opted to quote Alice Morgan because that's what the principal characters in the most cynical film ever made by the talented are to each other: black holes. They drag each other into their own darkness, crush one another, and make all involved into nothing.

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These black holes occupy a classroom in a Japanese middle school. They resemble the usual inhabitants of any such institution: some adults, plenty of kids. That the kids are cruel goes without saying, I should think. After all, this is nothing new, both in fiction and in real life. Japanese fiction I've enjoyed since my childhood, though, did convince me that Japanese schoolkids are a whole other level of vicious. The kids in this film did nothing to prove that I wasn't convinced.

Burdened with the responsibility of teaching them is one Yuko Moriguchi (, in an endlessly chilling performance), a woman who, until recently, had a loving husband to call her “dear” and an adorable daughter to call her “mom” whenever she came home. Armed with a knowing smile and plethora of snark, the film opens with Moriguchi giving an announcement of her resignation in front of the whole class, who was more than willing to ignore her completely, while enjoying the milk she provided them with. She didn't command their undivided attention until she told them that her daughter was murdered in cold blood. What's more, it was two of her own students who did it. She also revealed their identity, and to top it all of, admitted that she mixed their milk with the blood of her late husband, who passed away because of HIV. And this is just the opening segment of this depraved revenge tale.


The vile murder of Moriguchi's 4-year old daughter was committed by Shuya Watanabe (Yukito Nishii), a deranged child prodigy who targeted the little girl just because, and Naoki Shimomura (Kaoru Fujiwara), a bullied dork who wanted to prove his toughness to Shuya. Moriguchi knew they were protected by the law since they were underage, so she made the decision to come for them with the Wrath of God.

It didn't take long for the cowardly Naoki to become a shut-in, much to the dismay of his doting mother (Yoshino Kimura), who we found out later to have dismissed Moriguchi's concern over Naoki's involvement in the untimely death of her daughter. not long before the revelation in the classroom. As Naoki became increasingly demented thanks to his looming fate, his mother started losing her grip on their life. I must admit that I found the dissolution of the relationship between Naoki and his mother to be strangely heartbreaking to witness, especially considering both the mother and the son had it coming.

Shuya didn't follow Naoki's path, however. The child prodigy is smart enough to know that HIV couldn't be transferred the way Moriguchi preferred. Being the sick little bastard that Shuya was, naturally he didn't bother telling anyone that he could see through her lies. It didn't stop the other black holes (read: his classmates) from making him their no. 1 bullying target, though, now that they feel justified in their actions, considering the person whose life they turned into hell was an unrepentant murderer anyway. The only person not to join in on the fun is the brooding Mizuki Kitahara (Ai Hashimoto), who soon became target no. 2 and also Shuya's only friend. It was revealed eventually that Shuya's actions stemmed from wanting to be acknowledged for his genius, especially by his intelligent yet absent scientist mother (Ikuyo Kuroda).

Meanwhile, a naive but cheerful new teacher called Yoshiteru Terada (Masaki Okada) replaces Moriguchi as the new homeroom teacher. Oblivious to all the ills and the evils surrounding him, he tries to reach out to his students, especially the now reclusive Naoki. It didn't help his cause, of course, to have the cunning Moriguchi as his foremost confidant.

Without spoiling how all these story-lines are finally solved, let me just state that “” is much more merciless than even acclaimed revenge thrillers such as “Oldboy” or “The Chaser“.

From a technical viewpoint, “Confessions” really couldn't be faulted. The film depicts a series of, well, confessions, by the principal characters to move the story forward and lay out the thrills. As you could tell from the stills, the whole film was shot as if rain had never stopped pouring. Like a combination between a feverish dream and a terrifying nightmare. Simultaneously realistic and surrealistic. The cool score and the smart editing are enjoyable, and it's obvious that Nakashima brought his A game for this film. The endlessly stylish “Kamikaze Girls” and “Memories of Matsuko” have been proven worthy of their cult status, and I think both the critics and the film-going public will be kinder toward “The World of Kanako” in the future. But it is here in “Confession”s that Nakashima displayed why he is worth the hype, why he deserves to be mentioned alongside the likes of Hirokazu Koreeda and Shunji Iwai as one of the best Japanese directors born after the World War II.

Credits must also go to the excellent cast, especially Takako Matsu as the vengeful force of nature that is Yuko Moriguchi. Described by one of her victims as “a demon”, you'd probably be bound to nod in agreement although you might find yourself rooting for her. The tragic loss of her family seemed to have killed whatever life was left in her. Though she retained the same facial structure, Matsu gave off the impression that the woman you saw before and after the classroom revelation is no longer the same person. You would be forgiven for mistaking her as a living corpse or a zombie, although she is far more terrifying that any fictional zombie that I've ever seen. The scene where she emotes is jarring to watch, and her smile is laced with arsenic. To find a character whom I root for and afraid of at the same time is rare.

Lastly, like any great film, this thrilling picture rewards our attention with substance.

For example, remember when I said earlier that the inhabitants of the class are not unlike black holes? A little trip to google would tell of a recent discovery where a black hole ate a star. Moriguchi was a mother and a wife. Unlike Naoki and Shuya, her life is not filled with nothingness. But Naoki and Shuya acted as black holes and sucked in her happiness, made her into nothing. Moriguchi then stopped being a bright shining star and turned into a black hole herself. With her incomparable gravitational pull, she made other black holes (the rest of the classroom) circle the two black holes (Shuya and Naoki), where the darkness of the two murderers had to contend not only with the mother of their innocent victim but also their surroundings. Remember what happens after a black hole sucks something in?

Another example would be how this film lays out the destructive power of motherhood, an element usually attached to endless love, loyalty and purity: Shuya became the demented prick that he is in large part because his mother practically abandoned him, Naoki's mother was willing to overlook the error of her son's ways until it was too late, and Moriguchi rained fire & brimstone over Naoki & Shuya after they took away the very child she bore in her womb.

To conclude, “Confessions” is a must see if you haven't and a must see again if you have. After all, do you know another film where the phrase “just kidding” signals something boundlessly sinister and horrifying? Not only once, but twice? I don't, and I'm not kidding.

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  • Great review. I love this website. It’s seems to be the only remaining comprehensive review website which focuses on Japanese films. Keep up the good work.

  • Actually, Shuya was not smart enough to see through Yuko’s lies. He believed that he was infected by HIV virus and felt so happy bacause he finally could get his mother’s attention.

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