Confessions – Third Window Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 2010
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Writer: Tetsuya Nakashima
Cast: Takako Matsu, Masaki Okada, Yoshino Kimura, Yukito Nishii, Kaoru Fujiwara, Ai Hashimoto, Mana Ashida 

Release Date: April 25th, 2011
Approximate Running Time: 106 Minutes 42 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (Blu-ray), Region 2 PAL (DVD)
Retail Price: OOP

"Takako Matsu (K-20: Legend Of The Mask) plays a middle-school teacher whose four-year-old daughter is found dead. Shattered, she finally returns to her classroom only to become convinced that two of her students were responsible for her daughter’s murder. No one believes her, and she may very well be wrong, but she decides, nevertheless, that it’s time to take her revenge. What happens next is all-out psychological warfare waged against her students in an attempt to force them into confessing what she knows in her heart to be true: they are guilty and must be punished." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Confessions comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.5 GB

Feature: 21.9 GB

The source looks excellent; colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid, compression is very good, and there are no issues with edge enhancement.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent, the dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

All the extra content comes on a second disc (a single-layer DVD). Extras on this disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), 4 TV spots (1 minute 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), interviews with actors and actress who portrayed students titled  Real Confessions (17 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and a behind the scenes documentary titled Final Confessions with comments from  director Tetsuya Nakashima (69 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles). Other extras include trailers for other films released by Third Window Films.

Summary:

Revenge films have long been a staple in Japanese cinema, with kinetic scenes of blood-soaked carnage and acts of violence eclipsing the effects of the journey on the protagonist’s psyche. While revenge-themed films are often predictable, when done right, they can be an exhilarating experience that is both thought-provoking and entertaining. The key to finding this balance relies heavily on the shoulders of the central characters; if the viewer is unable to relate to them, it is impossible to feel their pain and connect on an emotional level.

My first introduction to Tetsuya Nakashima was Kamikaze Girls, an exuberant film with rapid fire pacing and a robust color palette. From that moment I was drawn into his unique cinematic universe, eager to explore more of his films. When I watched Memories of Matsuko, though the vivid colors were still there, the story was not as upbeat. There were still moments of exuberance, mostly during the film’s stylized musical numbers, but overall the tone of the film was bleak, the experience grueling yet rewarding. That said, I was more impressed than ever and could not wait to check out Tetsuya Nakashima's latest film, Confessions.

This time around, Tetsuya Nakashima creates a poignant tale about revenge rooted in consequences. Confessions primarily centers around three characters: a middle school teacher named Yuko Moriguchi and two students who are responsible for killing her daughter. The narrative is broken down into three sections, one for the teacher and one for each of the killers, with the longest section belonging to the teacher. Her ‘confession’ opens the film and does a superb job setting up who everyone is and what their motivations are. This opening section sets firmly in place the tone of Confessions with its deliberate pacing.

Confessions is easily Tetsuya Nakashima’s most gut wrenching film to date. There is no area where Confessions does not excel; its subdued colors and melancholy score/soundtrack (which includes the Radiohead song ‘Last Flowers’) perfectly reinforce the mood. When it comes to the performances, the entire cast are superb, especially Takako Matsu (9 Souls) in the role of Yuko Moriguchi. Masaki Okada, in the role of one of the killers, delivers a memorable performance. The most memorable moments in Confessions are scenes in which his character interacts with Yuko Moriguchi, especially their climatic showdown.

Without a doubt the most compelling aspect of Confessions is the journey upon which these three characters embark. The teacher determines that since society will not hold them accountable for their crimes due to their tender age, the best way to get revenge is through milk injected with HIV-infected blood. Now fearing that their lives are all but over, the two respond to their new situation in completely different ways. One withdraws from the world and slowly unravels, while the other remains stubborn and defiant. His lack of remorse causes him to lose his most precious possession forever, leading to his downfall. Ultimately, Confessions is a gut-wrenching, albeit rewarding cinematic experience.

It is a shame that the Third Window Films Blu-ray release is now OOP since it gave Confessions a solid audio/video presentation.

Written by Michael Den Boer