Women’s harsher narrative of “crime” / “confession” breaks taboos

Charso Press: In the 500th Cinematheque program of the House of Iranian Artists, the movie “Confessions” made by Tetsuya Nakashima was screened yesterday, June 14th, after which cinema critic Hossein Eidizadeh reviewed the film.

Hossein Eidizadeh said after the screening: “Confessions” is based on a novel of the same name. This is a good excuse to study Japanese criminal literature and see how it is adapted from their literary works. The first modern Japanese crime story was written in 1899 under the title “In Perfection of Calmness”. The movie “Rashomon” is based on the same novel.

Referring to some well-known Japanese novelists in the field of criminal literature, she said: “What has become prominent in the criminal literature of the world in recent years is the presence of women writers. As they showed, they have a good ability to create complex characters with psychological dimensions, and Kanai Minato, the author of this novel, is one of them. Minato has two novels, both of which have interesting stories.

Eidizadeh said about the monologue of “Confessions”: I have read this novel in English and by the way, in the novel, the conversations are monologue. We even see nested monologues in the film, for example, we go to the past and the present because the director has tried to preserve the monologue and introduce the narrative form of the novel into the film.

He explained: The first half hour of the film is completely like a novel, and in the following we see different perspectives because “Confessions” is very faithful to the original text. Apart from this film, the director has not made another film of this quality. He is a director who has made films in various genres, but “Confessions” has been his most successful film; Of course, he tried to make a film like this once, but he did not succeed. However, Nakashima is a filmmaker who delivers good films if he has a good script.

In another part of his speech, the critic said: In the last twenty or thirty years, there have been a lot of films in the cinema that are based on students’ work, because most of the views on students are not negative and they have innocence. While evil is in them and they may make mistakes. The “confessions” are the same. Of course, the violence in “Confessions” is less than in other films, but the kind of revenge in this film is different, so that when we get to the end of the film, we feel that the character of the film is either joking or really killing a mother and creating a hell for the child. Is. This can either be mental or even real; This is a psychological revenge that has a greater impact than physical revenge, for example, it is strange for an adult to take revenge on a child.

Eidizadeh said: “Although in recent years, killings in films have increased, but the illustration of several issues in cinema is taboo; For example, child murder is one of these issues, from the point of view that it is strange for an adult to take revenge on a child, and filmmakers are less likely to approach such an issue, but this film has a completely different direction. In this sense, both in “Confessions” and in his novel, we are faced with a story that has been less discussed and we have never seen such a film.

“This director is like Spielberg,” he said of the ontological view of Japanese films. From the point of view of pursuing different projects, he is not like making films of the same shape. For example, it even has a musical film, the interesting thing is that this film also has a lot of music; For example, the electric guitar goes to the human brain like a drill, in “Confessions” even the form of using music is different and in line with the visual part of the film, which has a double effect.

Regarding the film’s relationship with society, the critic said: It remains to be seen what relation “confessions” have to society. I must say that in this film there is no deal with the real world, it even completely isolates us. We are facing a murder and revenge here that revolves around everything. All the components of the film make us go to a space separate from the real space, it does not introduce you to the society to have a social perception of the film, because the film does not allow interaction between the characters and interaction with the outside. The person who made the “confessions” knew the cinema very well; Because such framing and special effects can not be the work of someone who does not know how to make a film. However, Nakashima’s lack of work is a bit strange because both this film and his other crime films have been bestsellers in Japan, yet this film has been his best work; So if you watch his other movies, you will probably be disappointed.

He reiterated that “confessions” do not enter into the discussion of social analysis. Let me give an example; Rashomon is often said to be an anti-samurai film that has destroyed traditional values, but less is said about the effects of World War II; As traces of the war can be seen in different parts, but “confessions” less allow social analysis.

In the end, while comparing crime books and movies like this, Eidizadeh explained: It seems that in literature it is easier to talk about many bitter topics than cinema, that is why many filmmakers do not go to him. I must say that this author’s previous novel has also become a series, which I suggest you watch. We also see strange things in that series, for example, we see mothers doing things that do not look like the work of a mother that is etched in our minds.