告白 Kokuhaku (Confessions)

告白 Kokuhaku (Confessions)

Kokuhaku (Confessions) is a Japanese film by Tetsuya Nakashima.

When I first watched this film, I got hooked because of its mysterious and dark scenes. It is a great film because when the film ended, I was left hanging at the end of the story and I said to myself: “I want more!”

It is not like the other films that show reality as they are. Kokuhaku depicts itself with the combination of reality and imagination which I can say is very creative. This film became my favorite film so far. 

I think it is titled Kokuhaku (Confessions) because of the revelations of each character in the story throughout the film.

The film is about revenge and losing someone. I noticed that the film opens with a montage – a series of short shots which are scattered throughout the film. The emotions shown by the characters, the graphic narration, the mise-en-scene and the editing became an effective way for the film to attract audience.

Moriguchi, the teacher, opens the story about her farewell and some lessons in life. She started by flashbacks with shocking revelations which she opened up to her class. 

Each character has their own depiction of life. In Mizuki’s case, I think that her love for Shuuya led her through her own death. Moriguchi’s purpose throughout the film was to impose to Shuuya the pain of losing someone. Shuuya, overall wants attention from his inventions and to prove to his mom that he is a brilliant child since her mother left him when he was young. I think Shuuya’s purpose for seeing his mother was primarily pride then followed by love. He wanted to prove something to her mother.

The flow of the story was a narration from one character to another. I also noticed that in the film that can be applied in reality, media plays an important role in giving information and nurturing people.

At the end, the film left me hanging on the words Moriguchi said: “Just Kidding.” It’s short but it left me grabbing for answers. The film uses a variety of cinematic techniques which we rarely see in Japanese films. Some may see the film as the fucked up kid’s of today’s generation.