Nakashima's _Confessions_ screening in LA 1/6

Alex Zahlten Alex.Zahlten at gmx.de
Sat Jan 8 21:51:53 EST 2011


Hi,

Anne and Jordan, thanks for giving your impressions on the screening. 

As you both mention, there are a lot of well-worn tropes in the story itself; much of the discussion I followed in Japan focused much more on the formal aspects - not surprising, as the film almost forces that aspect on you. 

In that vein, one of the main points of discussion was the question if Nakashima did a good job of adapting the (very successful) novel. I haven't read it, but apparently it collects different accounts of what happens/happened from the various people involved; Rashomon-style, they all differ to some degree and it is never certain what "actually" happened (again, I haven't read the novel so this is only based on what I've heard/read in discussions of the film). 

There were somewhat mixed reactions to this question. But the criticism the film garnered from what I awkwardly called "traditional" film criticism was more diffuse. What I mean with "traditionalists" here are the critics from a new left tradition, that are very focused on questions of social criticism through narrative (this is a rapidly shrinking group- or rather, one with less and less of a public platform; you can still find a lot of this in publications such as Eiga Geijutsu, though). There was never a lot of love lost for Nakashima among this crowd anyway.

The film seems to explicitly mix established character / patterns with a self-consciously stylized form. I felt this moves the film's nihilism to a different level, as Nakashima doesn't seem to take these cliches very seriously but uses them as a springboard for formal experimentation. The only scene in which I felt he had an interest in looking into actual social dynamics (even if in a stylized way) was the quite mesmerizing opening scene with all its uneasy polyphonics. And even there it was just barely. 

So for critics focused on social message this is a kind of double blow: On the level of the narrative he doesn't conform with the kind of message they would like to see. And then he doesn't seem to be seriously concerned with that type of filmmaking anyway, but much more interested in using film form. At the most Nakashima seems to be commenting on the banality of social commentary filmmaking as a separate sphere referring to a "social reality." Nakashima situates himself - this was my impression - in a completely mediatized society where that isn't a valid distinction. In a way it mirrors Tarrantino's use of Hitler/ the Nazis in Inglorious Basterds; he's aware that the Nazis have become so completely mediatized that he refuses to deal with them on a "serious" level of direct commentary (as the obnoxious "Downfall" by Oliver Hirschbiegel did).

Anyway, this was my interpretation of a lot of the criticism leveled against the film; I only followed the discussion loosely, however, so maybe others on the list have a different take on it.

The Eiga Gijutsu best /worst of the year list is coming out in less than two weeks- I wouldn't be surprised if Confessions makes #1 in their "worst" list. There'll certainly be some comments on the film, I'll try and write a post about some of the comments there-

Alex








-------- Original-Nachricht --------
> Datum: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 22:45:33 -00
> Von: Anne McKnight <mcknight at usc.edu>
> An: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> Betreff: Re: Nakashima\'s _Confessions_ screening in LA 1/6

> Thanks, Jordan, for the thoughts.
> I, too, was surprised at how packed the place was--to the gills.
> 
> I had a couple of thoughts about the relation between the legal and  
> the literary and this film--and was also curious about what a  
> conservative/traditional critic could possibly find fault with. To me,  
> the film seemed like a traditionalist's wet dream. What's up with the  
> critique, Alex?
> 
> Two characters (Moriguchi, the teacher, and one of the youth  
> criminals, Sh?nen A) cited the sh?nen-h? criminal law, and the fact  
> that your offenses were erased when you come of age and become,  
> essentially, an adult tabula rasa. I could imagine some umbrage at  
> that. Bad people go free!
> But the villains of the film seemed to be the tried and true ones from  
> central casting--mostly mothers, but also "the system." One new twist  
> was the takedown of the heroic teacher--the kind who jumps on tables  
> and issues inspirational homilies à la Robin Williams. The sympathetic  
> sh?jo character (I think it was, Kitahara) calls one of the sh?nen  
> criminals "maz?-kon" which surprised me--does that term have any  
> currency anymore? The film seemed more nihilistic than anything--a  
> priori categories were fixed, and all was doomed.
> 
> The conflation with AUM tropes was kind of interesting--Shonen A  
> (Shuya, of maz?-kon fame) was an evil techno-genius who did not get  
> proper recognition for his science fair feats and general scientific  
> awesomeness. It seemed to me that a parallel narrative could be traced  
> in the last 15 years between the sexualization of sh?jo to younger and  
> younger girl-ages, with the techno-evil of sh?nen to younger and  
> younger boy-ages.
> 
> The title is a bit baffling to me, which is why I was curious if  
> anyone had read the novel. Confession is the literary trope par  
> excellence of modern prose fiction. But despite being called  
> "kokuhaku," the actual narration of this film was part kokuhaku (in  
> Sh?nen B's mother's diary, Sh?nen A's video tell-all), but mostly  
> what I would call sh?gen, witnessing. It is the same as the narrative  
> style we see in _Shimotsuma_, for example, in Momoko's voice-of-God  
> account of how she was conceived. It's a very novelistic way of  
> telling a story as a narrator of things one does not actually  
> experience oneself: not blurting out one's inner life onto the page as  
> a supplicant/confessor, to make sense of it after it is spilled onto  
> the page, but rather synthesizing and narrating a story after the  
> fact, even if the medium in which it is relayed (e.g. video) signifies  
> "liveness."
> 
> But I have to say that the Radiohead/Boris soundtrack did not do a lot  
> for me either. But a lot of people seemed moved. There was even a guy  
> who, after the film, stood in the lobby and captured the attention of  
> people milling around by confessing HIS sorrow/anxiety at the issues  
> the film brought up--until it became clear that he was not really  
> responding to the film per se, but using it as an occasion to advocate  
> fr Christianity and all of our sins ("").
> 
> So what was the buzz from the "trad" people who panned the film?
> 
> On Jan 7, 2011, at 2:30 AM, oyabaka at ucla.edu wrote:
> 
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I just came from the UCLA screening too, and have a few thoughts.
> >
> > I would have to suggest a revision to the observation that the teens  
> > are all depicted as evil - at one point, the main character (the  
> > teacher bent on revenge) even expresses disappointment that the kids  
> > weren't more cruel, though they do come across as stupid, simple,  
> > and unsympathetic.
> >
> > The only vector of complication to this characterization is the back  
> > stories of teen's earlier childhood, where it is clear that neglect  
> > from adults (parents, teachers, etc.) contributed into transforming  
> > adorable, innocent, loving kids into objects of disgust and moral  
> > abjection. Not that this adds much richness to the rather simplified  
> > blame game... The usual suspects are there: neglectful parents,  
> > mainly mothers who have careers, mothers who dote on sons, absent/ 
> > overworked fathers, violence-obsessed mass media, etc.
> >
> > In terms of film style and plot, the film has enough to keep most  
> > folks interested. Talking with others afterward (the theater was  
> > packed), the general response, both from experts and average viewers  
> > alike, was that the film was successful in at least some ways, and  
> > all responses were enthusiastic. Some speculate that it won't  
> > capture American viewers, that some aspects of the  narrative are  
> > revealed too slowly or contain too much repetition to retain their  
> > emotional impact.
> >
> > It has a Count of Monte Cristo feel to the revenge story, which  
> > mixes both careful craft and spontaneity on the part of woman  
> > wreaking her revenge.
> >
> > There are some odd moments with visual techniques and metadiegetic  
> > sound effects, but anyone familiar with Nakashima's style might  
> > welcome them with a bit of nostalgia, since the film does feel like  
> > a more mainstreamed version of his usually richly textured style.
> >
> > Just a few thoughts...
> >
> >
> > Jordan
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >>
> >> On 2011/01/07, at 10:53, "Alex Zahlten" <Alex.Zahlten at gmx.de> wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> Hi,
> >>>
> >>> did anyone go to see Kokuhaku, and have any impressions/ideas  
> >>> about it? It generated some discussion in Japan (and much  
> >>> criticism from the "traditional" film critic side) and I'd be  
> >>> interested to hear further opinions-
> >>>
> >>> Alex
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -------- Original-Nachricht --------
> >>>> Datum: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 10:00:47 -0800
> >>>> Von: Anne McKnight <mcknight at usc.edu>
> >>>> An: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >>>> Betreff: Nakashima¥'s _Confessions_ screening in LA 1/6
> >>>
> >>>> hi all,
> >>>>
> >>>> short notice, but for people in town, this is screening tonight @
> >>>> UCLA. I was a big fan of _Shimotsuma monogatari_, and am  
> >>>> interested to
> >>>> see where this one goes.
> >>>>
> >>>> Has anyone read the novel (_Kokuhaku_)?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> ???????????????????????????????????????????
> >>>> Melnitz Movies and the Graduate Students Association present...
> >>>>
> >>>> CONFESSIONS
> >>>> Thursday, January 6th @ 7:30 PM
> >>>>
> >>>> Japan's official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Film
> >>>>
> >>>> Tetsuya Nakashima?s Confessions is one of Japan?s most  
> >>>> important films
> >>>>
> >>>> of the year. Reigning the national box office for weeks, the film  
> >>>> has
> >>>> seduced, frightened, provoked and moved audiences with the depth of
> >>>> its focus on the delinquency of a despairing youth. A stylized  
> >>>> mixture
> >>>> of cruelty and compassion, Confessions deals with school violence,
> >>>> bullying, revenge and love, while a...lso addressing the miserable
> >>>> state of Japanese public schools, prejudices against HIV victims  
> >>>> and
> >>>> the consequences of allowing teenage violence to go unpunished.
> >>>>
> >>>> Based on the bestselling novel Kohuhaku by Kanae Minato,  
> >>>> Confessions
> >>>> reveals the key mystery in its opening sequence and then focuses on
> >>>> the reasons that prompted this violent act and subsequent vendetta.
> >>>> Shifting between the point of view of the teenagers and the
> >>>> devastated, grieving teacher, Nakashima prevents the audience from
> >>>> taking sides, allowing the viewers room to come to their own
> >>>> conclusions about the dark acts they witness.
> >>>>
> >>>> Official selection Toronto International Film Festival 2010,  
> >>>> Official
> >>>> Oscar entry Best Foreign Film (Japan)
> >>>>
> >>>> "Sustaining a fugue-like, intensifying counterpoint of sound and  
> >>>> image
> >>>> over its 103 minutes, it's truly mesmerizing, and in terms of
> >>>> structure and articulation, hands down one of the most original  
> >>>> films
> >>>> I've seen recently, affording a glimpse of another possible  
> >>>> direction
> >>>> 21st-century cinema might take." - Gavin Smith, FILM COMMENT
> >>>>
> >>>> Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
> >>>> Starring: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito  
> >>>> Nishii,
> >>>> Kaoru Fujiwara, Ai Hashimoto
> >>>> Screenwriter: Tetsuya Nakashima
> >>>> Cinematography: Shoichi Ato, Atsushi Ozawa
> >>>> 35mm, 106 minutes
> >>>
> >>> -- 
> >>> alex at nipponconnection.de
> >>>
> >>> GMX DSL Doppel-Flat ab 19,99 Euro/mtl.! Jetzt mit
> >>> gratis Handy-Flat! http://portal.gmx.net/de/go/dsl
> >>
> >>
> >
> 

-- 
alex at nipponconnection.de

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