Nakashima's _Confessions_ screening in LA 1/6

[Eija Niskanen]

I did see it, and while I enjoyed the opening part and found the film also visually striking, the Miyabe Miyuki - type of casting of all teenagers as deeply evil disturbed me.
Eija



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
> 
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