Based on the manga series “Natsume Arata no Kekkon” (Arata Natsume’s Marriage) written and illustrated by Taro Nogizaka, “Conviction of Marriage” has Yukihiko Tsutsumi dealing with yet another crime oriented movie, as in the case of “Hope”, “12 Suicidal Teens” etc, although his approach this time, is quite different.
Conviction of Marriage is screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
The story begins with the arrest of a perverted serial killer nicknamed Shinagawa the Clown, which concluded a series of events that shook the country. While the 20-year-old woman who was the culprit is waiting for her trial in prison, almost surely facing the death sentence, a boy, seeking to discover his father’s head, which was never discovered among the maimed bodies of her victims, writes a letter to her in prison under the name of Arata, a child welfare center worker who was counseling him.
When Arata learns about the lie, he confronts the boy, but is eventually convinced to actually visit Shinagawa. During the meeting, she immediately realizes that he is not the original author and decides to leave, but in an inexplicable, as much as surprising choice, Arata asks her to marry him. This arouses her interest and she eventually accepts and orders her lawyer, Miyamae, who believes in her innocence, to follow the proceedings. All the while, the mystery about the murders is still lingering, even after the trial ensues.
Check the interview with the protagonist
Evidently, the main concept about the marriage proposal to a violent serial killer on a whim is one that could have only been found in Japanese manga, which is also one of the few places where humor would be present in such a situation. In that fashion, at times, it seems that Yukihiko Tsutsumi spends the whole movie trying to justify Arata’s action, by having Shinagawa revealed as something completely different. That the transformation takes place gradually, with the woman appearing terrifying in the beginning and ‘mellowing’ as time passes, is handled quite well by the veteran filmmaker, even if the whole case is rather far-fetched. That the same applies to Arata also works quite well under the same prism.
Furthermore, this aspect, and essentially the whole movie benefits the most by the acting of the two protagonists, with Yuya Yagira as Arata and Yuina Kuroshima as Shinagawa being occasionally impressive, even if with the usual for such adaptations, excessiveness on occasion. The same applies to Taishi Nakagawa‘s performance as Miyamae, who manages to appear both quite smart and naive at the same time.
A large part of the movie unfolds as a court drama, adding another layer to the narrative, and also allowing for more comments, this time about the way the justice system works in Japan, mostly focusing on its discrepancies and the various legal gaps. The way the story unfolds equally through the trial, the meetings among the protagonists and the research Arata and Miyamae are conducting, results in a rather intriguing story that essentially retains interest from beginning to end, even more so as the initial impressions are turned on their heads. Again, if someone is searching for realism in terms of character and story, or even a ‘true crime’ approach, that is nowhere to be found here, with the absurdity found left and right, even in entertaining and appealing fashion. On the other hand, the exploration of the how people judge others, mostly based on appearances and preconceptions, is presented rather well both through the main story and some secondary arcs
Taro Nogizaka’s cinematography is one of the best aspects of the movie, with particularly the way he has framed the visiting room in the prison, and especially the way he implements the glass, being impressive to watch. The same applies to the initial presentation of Shinagawa, and particularly the intense focus on her mouth and teeth diastema, which induces her with a truly terrifying hypostases. The rest of the movie is somewhat too bright and polished, but not to a point to actually present a problem. The editing results in a relatively fast pace that works well for the film, although some lagging does exist here and there.
All in all, “Conviction of Marriage” is not exactly great, but is definitely entertaining, well-acted and well-shot, and will definitely appeal to fans of manga adaptations and extreme romances.