Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Confessions Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 30, 2011

Selected to represent Japan in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 83rd Academy Awards, Tetsuya Nakashima's "Kokuhaku" a.k.a "Confessions" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films. The supplemental features on the disc include two theatrical trailers; TV spots; and a lengthy featurette with various cast and crew interviews as well as footage from the shooting of the film. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Dark clouds

The film begins with a simple confession by a beautiful schoolteacher named Yuko Moriguchi (Takako Matsu, The Hidden Blade, K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces). In a room full of 13-year-old students, she calmly announces that her daughter has been murdered.

The murderers are in the room and Moriguchi knows who they are. They are free because of a controversial Japanese juvenile law that allows criminals under 14 to escape punishment. Everyone expects Moriguchi to name them. Instead, she tells the students that she has injected the murderers’ milk with the HIV-infected blood of her late husband.

Everyone goes berserk.

The rest of the film is comprised of a series of individual confessions, including those of the two murderers. We learn about various characters and their lives. All of the confessions have something in common - which is what the film targets.

By the time the identities of the two murderers are revealed, the focus of attention is already elsewhere. Various flashbacks from events before and after Moriguchi’s announcement reveal what led to the tragic death of her daughter.

New characters are introduced with each confession. We learn that mothers, girlfriends and boyfriends could have prevented the tragedy, but they chose not to do it. We see why. Then we see everything again from different angles and begin to realize that perhaps they were not in a position to react as we are convinced they should have.

Meanwhile, we learn that Moriguchi’s revenge plan is a lot more complex. It is also near flawless. She has predicted how everyone would react after her announcement - or near everyone.

Based on Kanae Minato’s novel, Tetsuya Nakashima’s Confessions is everything Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale should have been - shocking, brutal, thought-provoking, superbly directed and impeccably acted. There isn’t a single sequence in the film that does not deliver an important message.

The title suggests that the film is about confessions, but it is actually about perceptions – strictly Japanese and directly responsible for the cycles of apathy and consequently violence that are chronicled. Nevertheless, the film does not evolve into a preachy tirade about Japanese youth. It simply points out why and how things could get out of control.

Dark and unsettling but elegant and stunningly beautiful, Confessions is clearly one of the very best films to be released in 2010. Cinematographers Masakazu Ato (Memories of Matsuko) and Atsushi Ozawa (Paco and the Magical Book) have produced unforgettable visuals that create a truly incredible atmosphere. The film is also complimented by an outstanding collection of appropriately melancholic tunes by Radiohead, ambient rockers Boris, electronica guru Shibuya Keiichiro, and Toyohiko Kanahashi.

Note: In 2010, Confessions was selected to represent Japan in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 83rd Academy Awards. Earlier this year, Confessions was also the big winner at the 34th Japanese Academy Awards, taking four awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Tetsuya Nakashima), and Best Film Editing (Yoshiyuki Koike).

Confessions Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tetsuya Nakashima's Confessions arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films.

Like all of Tetsuya Nakashima's previous films, Confessions has a very unique look. There are variety of heavy blacks, grays, and blues that are often overwhelming but very much in sync with the film's grim atmosphere. Even during the darkest scenes, fine object detail is very good. Clarity is also pleasing, though selected scenes look slightly softer than the rest of the film (for example, the various flashbacks from the final third of the film). Contrast levels are consistent. Edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern. I did not see any heavy artifacts or jaggies to report in this review. I also did not see traces of heavy noise reduction. Lastly, the high-definition transfer conveys very pleasing depth and tightness. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Confessions Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Third Window Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio track opens up the entire film exceptionally well. As far as I am concerned, the music in Confessions is often times as important as the visuals, and I simply cannot imagine enjoying the film as much as I did with a lossy track. There is a wonderful range of nuanced dynamics (listen to Radiohead) and good surround activity throughout the entire film. The dialog is also crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

Confessions Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on a separated SDVD. They are encoded in PAL.

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Confessions. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, PAL).

• Bookstore Trailer - another trailer for Confessions. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, PAL).

• TV spots - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, PAL).

• Final Confessions - director Tetsuya Nakashima discusses how Confessions came to exist, its controversial message, the various characters, etc. The featurette also contains plenty of footage from various screenings of the film, the shooting process, as well as comments by cast and crew members. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (70 min, PAL).

• Real Confessions - a collection of interviews with a number of the young actors who play the troubled students. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (18 min, PAL).

• Third Window Trailers - a gallery of trailers for other Third Window films.

Confessions Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dark, moody, thought-provoking and superbly directed, Tetsuya Nakashima's Confessions embodies everything I love about cinema. Simply fascinating. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films, looks and sounds terrific. Do not miss this film, folks. I guarantee you have not seen anything like it. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.