22 nenme no Kokuhaku: Watashi ga Satsujinhan desu is a remake that surpasses the original!

 

Remakes. They're more often than not regarded as a controversial topic. More often than not, they're seen in a negative light with most seeming to stem from nothing more than the remakes overseers desire for monetary gain from an established IP or in some cases, making unnecessary changes for no real reason. There's also the seemingly prevalent need to update movies for the modern age. This can be harmless and yet, in a certain Hollyweird, there are filmmakers that manipulate the media in order to appeal to the mythical "modern audience". It's one of the things that turned me off of Hollyweird completely. This post isn't about Hollyweird however, and instead it is about a remake that surpasses the original in every way. It doesn't happen too often, but I believe that I have found one that does. That's right, the topic of this post is a 2017 Japanese remake of the 2012 South Korean movie, Confession of Murder, Memoirs of a Murderer!

                          

Now, the movie is truly fascinating. Sonezaki's press conference and subsequent actions such as, the book signing and public apologies to the victims' families seem driven by ego. At least when viewed on the surface. He refers to the murders as "artwork" and seemingly takes twisted pleasure in his work. The attention also seems to delight him. It's brilliantly done and if you haven't seen it then I won't spoil what it leads to. 

There's also the media and public's perception that is rather interesting. We see some promote Sonezaki, calling him cool and intelligent. There's Twitter posts from fans happy to receive a copy of his book amongst other social media buzz. On the flip side, there are those that question what Sonezaki is doing, his motives for doing so and why he came out of nowhere with no past just to come forward now. This takes the viewer on a ride as the narrative is gripping enough to make them keen to see what really the truth is and what'll happen. 

Throughout the movie, there's great use of multiple camera techniques. A personal favourite being the shot that tracks a certain masked figure as he walks through a news studio before the camera pans to an overhead shot showing the eye shaped desk. It like most shots in the movie could be seen as slow, but that just helps in framing what is quite a bleak, grim narrative. There are also the different formats in which shots are presented such as for the tv interview and cctv footage, these shots add some dynamism into some already stellar work.

There's an air of tension throughout the movie that the slow camera movements and the audio certainly helps. The effective cuts in the editing and beautiful transitions also help in this regard. My personal favourite transition is the one of Dr. Yamagata, as the camera zooms into his eye before panning out to reveal his younger self in a flashback. The action also is tense and less over the top than the original Korean movie. 

The biggest positive and perhaps what sets it most about from the original are the performances of its leads. Tatsuya Fujiwara, a favourite of this blog, is simply breath-taking as Sonezaki. As the centrepiece of the narrative, he thrives in what is a very challenging role. He exudes a triumphant narcissism in the first half of the movie as he promotes his book and becomes a threatening presence when the script required. In the second half, he showcases a range of emotions that is stunning to witness. 

Backing up Tatsuya Fujiwara's performance is Hideaki Ito as Detective Makimura. Hideaki Ito brings a solid, composed performance where he gets to let loose with flashes of anger, despair and action. I've also got to commend him for his subtle facial expressions and the little changes he does makes a world of difference. 

Toru Nakamura also delivers a tremendous performance as Sendo. In another difficult role, he exudes confidence as a reporter before the twist and then brings the emotion in full. The rest of the cast also bring enough soul and embody their characters tremendously. 

Overall, Yu Irie proves to be a very competent director and Memoirs of a Murderer is a very engaging, tense thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The twist is done expertly and really works where it could have fallen flat.