SYNOPSIS:
When two children are found murdered, an eighteen-year-old high school student becomes the prime suspect and the case quickly becomes a media sensation. As both the press and an angry public descend on the home of the accused, his family finds themselves at the mercy of strangers unconcerned with their welfare.
Takumi Katsuyoshi is a veteran police detective who is assigned to look after Saori, the fifteen-year-old sister of the accused; while he initially regards the assignment as frivolous, it isn't long before he sees what kind of toll the attention has taken on the family and he becomes concerned when he witnesses the reckless behaviour of the paparazzi. Katsuyoshi feels Saori is no longer safe in Tokyo and takes her to a small town in the countryside where they can wait out the uproar but they soon discover the news has followed them to every corner of Japan and nowhere is safe from the prying eyes of the tabloid press and the people who read it.
MOVIE REVIEW:
There is something about films which are based on true events which grip us emotionally. The power of visuals translates the somberness and gravity of life effectively, and that will always be more affecting than a story about, say, a boy and a girl getting hitched in typical Hollywood style. And that is why this Japanese film works on all levels, so much so that it has been selected as the country’s official submission to the 82nd Academy Award's Best Foreign Language Film in 2010. Whether it will garner a nomination, your guess is good as ours – remember how Japan’s Departures took home the honours this year?
Back to the story – Known for his writing credits for Bayside Showdown (1998) and Infection (2004), Ryoichi Kimizuka writes the screenplay and directs this well made film about a policeman who has been tasked to play guardian to a young girl who is escaping the limelight of the media and public. Why? The poor girl’s 18 year old brother has been accused of murdering two teenage girls. It is through the duo’s journey to a rural countryside that they bond and realise that they both have personal demons they have to conquer.
If what the preamble of the film is true, then we strongly feel for Japan’s culture: When a family is subjected to a media feeding frenzy, the police force has to step in to provide protection. It is with this situation that the story of this film is sturdily told. With the context of Japan being an Asian country, the strong family and social bonding is put in limelight here. The concept of face value is something viewers in this region of the world would be familiar with. What constitutes to pride and honour is something we would connect with to.
And it is with this strong foundation that this film manages to engage from beginning to end. The 119 minute runtime is grippingly engaging as the characters develop their multi layered personalities. You would feel for the protagonist cop as he drives round the country with the poor girl who gets involved in the domestic mess. You will feel for the young girl whose world is turned upside down tragically while the public hunts her down. And most importantly, you will feel for the affected family who gets pressurized by the media and the society.
Strong performances also make this film a must watch: The riveting portrayals of Koichi Sato’s (Amalfi) policeman and Mirai Shida’s (Kabei: Our Mother) young victim are complemented by supporting characters played by Toshiro Yanagiba (Bayside Showdown), Ryuhei Matsuda (Nightmare Detective) and Yoshino Kimura (Blindness). After winning the Best Screenplay Award at the Montreal World Film Festival, where this touching movie goes from here will depend on how the world sees and regards this social situation.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the movie’s visual transfer. It is presented in its original Japanese audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review by John Li
Posted on 25 December 2009
|
