Confessions (2010 film)



"“Even if you might be protected legally, I will never forgive you.”"

- Yuko Moriguchi

Confessions is a 2010 Japanese thriller/mystery/horror film based on the novel of the same name. It is directed by Tetsuya Nakashima and stars Takako Matsu.

Yuko Moriguchi is a middle school teacher in charge of a class of rowdy students. They drink milk as she talks. After declaring her resignation toward the class, she then reveals her suspicion of two students for murdering her 4-year-old daughter Manami. It also turns out that she has hatched an elaborate revenge plan to punish the murderers, due to juvenile law protecting them from legal persecution. Therefore, she tainted their milk cartons with HIV infected blood. It Gets Worse.

The film is rife with controversy. Not intended for the young or squeamish, Confessions shows how delicate life is, the ironies of poetic justice, AIDS, parental problems, and many more. Viewers are cautioned for the copious amount of gore and blood in this work.

It won many film awards, including the Japan Academy Prize, the Blue Ribbon Award, Asian Film Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards. It is also Japan's official entry for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Not to be confused with Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1766 work Confessions, the source of the phrase "Let them eat cake" that is often misattributed to Marie Antoinette.


 * An Aesop
 * Anyone Can Die:
 * The Chessmaster: Yuko Moriguchi.
 * Crapsack World: In this film, the classroom is an allegory of it.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Yuko Moriguchi.
 * Also by the end.
 * Did Not Do the Research: It is impossible for AIDS to be transmitted through tainted milk.
 * The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: AIDS.
 * Dissonant Serenity
 * Downer Ending: In Yuko Moriguchi’s eyes, it is a Bittersweet Ending.
 * Doting Parent: Deconstructed when.
 * Driven to Suicide
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas:
 * Escapism: To rid themselves of their personal horrors, the students often mistreat the murderers.
 * "Falling in Love" Montage: and  have what appears to be a very sweet one, all things considered.
 * Freak-Out: Naoki has one after thinking he has AIDS. Shuya also has one.
 * Freudian Excuse:
 * Yuko Moriguchi wanted to avenge her daughter’s death (after she also lost the man she loved).
 * Naoki Shimomura.
 * Shuya Watanabe.
 * The Film of the Book
 * Fun with Acronyms: In romaji, the "motivational" poster sent to Naoki reads
 * Gang of Bullies: The murderers are bullied with a point-ranking system.
 * Gotta Kill Them All: Yuko Moriguchi and the two murderers.
 * Gorn
 * Grey and Gray Morality: The film challenges the viewers whether it is right to sympathize with Yuko Moriguchi, the murderers, the murderers’ friends, and the other students.
 * Harmless Electrocution: Subverted.
 * Happy Dance: The new teacher likes the students to dance.
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters: One of the film’s main themes.
 * In Medias Res: As each character's viewpoints are given, more info about their pasts and other events that led to the story are expanded upon.
 * In the Blood: ’s mother told him that he would be a genius like her. Shame he's also psychotic.
 * Ironic Echo: "Just kidding."
 * It's Personal: Yuko Moriguchi’s attitudes toward the two murderers.
 * Kids Are Cruel: Jesus Christ, they're monsters! The two students who murder a four-year-old are just the beginning.
 * Lonely Together: Two students start a relationship because the're both bullied by everyone else.
 * Love Martyr: Mizuki Kitahara, for.
 * Mad Bomber: At the end,.
 * Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: Deconstructed. The new teacher actually.
 * Mommy Issues:
 * Oedipus Complex: toward his mother. He takes this so seriously that it’s not even funny.
 * Parental Abandonment: ’s mother left him. Thus, his obsession ensued.
 * Parental Issues: A major theme of the work.
 * Poisonous Friend: Shuya befriended Naoki before convincing him to help murder someone.
 * Psychological Thriller
 * Psycho Supporter: Mizuki thinks of a teenage girl who famously poisoned her entire family as her "other self".
 * Sadist Teacher: Yuko Moriguchi, although only after her daughter dies.
 * Save Our Students: Deconstructed. Yuko’s utter disgust at the students not appreciating life leads her to this revenge plan.
 * Self-Made Orphan: Shuya Watanabe, apparently.
 * Stuffed Into the Fridge: After murders her,  is dismembered and hidden inside a fridge.
 * Teen Genius: Shuya. However he doesn't feel appreciated.
 * Texting: In the beginning of the film, the movie cuts to scenes of cell phone users texting to reveal clues about the plot.
 * Revenge: The premise of the film.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Moriguchi is on one of these.
 * Who's Laughing Now?: All of the main characters at some point.
 * Would Hurt a Child: The murderers, especially . Doesn't help that they're practically kids themselves.
 * Xanatos Roulette: Yuko Moriguchi planned most of it even if she may not have researched properly. The most triumphant example is in the end when