Confessions Review

• 17th Feb 2011

I have had Confessions sitting in my flat for a few weeks now, waiting to be reviewed. I found myself putting this one to the bottom of the pile a lot of the time, purely because I have seen a lot of below par efforts in Asian cinema recently (one or two decent efforts too). Having actually mustered up the motivation to finally put this DVD in the machine and press play, I initially winced at the massive counter running across the top of the screen and the large graphic telling me that this was a check disc. (You don’t say?). Initial omens weren’t good, but five minutes into this movie however, I was absolutely hooked.

Confessions is a tale of revenge. It centres on the story of a high school teacher, named Yuko, who decides to take a different tack to her normal class structure and proceeds to tell her congregation the story of the recent death of her four year old daughter. Convinced that the person or persons responsible for her daughter’s untimely demise are members of the very class she is addressing, Yuko tells in great detail, what she is going to do to the killer. What follows, are the confessions of other people involved with the main protagonist. Each of their narratives mingles and messes with the central plot, blurring it around the edges. I will not tell any more to you about the storyline. This is one of those films that require you to simply view it and let what unfolds wash over them.

I wasn’t lying about being hooked from five minutes in. The tone of the movie and the intentions of its central character are immediately set and I was left hanging on every second of the film to see how it would play out.

I will say, however, that Confessions is one of the darkest films I have seen in recent years. There is nothing at all redeeming about any of the characters in the film, nor any of the events that occur within the plot. In fact, you DEFINITELY do not want to watch this film if you want sweetness and light to pour from the TV and its speakers. Once it was over, I felt utterly devoid of joy and hope, yet in a really good way! I knew I’d just watched a pretty shocking movie and it felt good! I was fulfilled.

Don’t let that sway your decision to see this film though. Although it’s not going to make your day, or at least it shouldn’t, it will definitely be a worthwhile experience. The film is crafted so well; it definitely has the best dark atmosphere in an Asian movie that I’ve seen in a good long while. The camera work is handled in a very ‘Fincher-esque’ way, without looking like a fan film. I am not familiar with the works of director, Tetsuya Nakashima but from my research he is known for creating a certain atmosphere within his movies. In Confessions, the atmosphere is unbelievably tense. This tension is helped admirably by the quality of the acting of pretty much the entire cast. The role of Yuko is played by Takako Matsu, who I last saw in K20: Legend of the Mask. In that film, Matsu played the role of an upper-class plaything of both the hero and villain well, without being riveting. In Confessions, Matsu is marvellously intense and utterly believable as a broken woman scorned and hell-bent on making others pay. Her psychological warfare on those she feels responsible for her loss is cold, ruthless and shocking when you consider who her wrath is targeted on. I was completely taken out of my comfort zone as to whether I should be feeling sympathy for Matsu’s character and the lengths she goes to due to her tragic situation. Takako Matsu definitely needs to get some award for her performance in this film and I’ll be looking out for future appearances. That’s not to say that Matsu’s performance is the only one worth mentioning. There are a lot of younger actors in this film, all of them account for themselves more than adequately.

The only thing about Confessions I can criticise, is that I was not that impressed with the soundtrack. It boasts some major contributors, i.e. Radiohead and this year’s Mercury Prize winners, The XX but I just think the soundtrack is going to get lumbered in with the Donnie Darkos and The Butterfly Effects of this world in being seen as an emo movie. Maybe it is – it’s up to the viewer to decide. But for me, the soundtrack didn’t add atmosphere, it slowed the film down.

Confessions is released in selected UK cinemas on 18th February 2011.