It has been some time since I’ve done a film review, perhaps longer still since I’ve watched a Japanese film. I eventually started to believe that I had seen all of the good ones and didn’t need to search for anymore. Luckily I snapped out of that silly mindset and dived into a promising collection of titles, one of which was Liverleaf, directed by Eisuke Naito. The film is the live-action adaption of a manga by the same name, and also goes by the name Misumiso.
The film takes a place in dull town, and follows a beautiful young girl by the name of Nosaki, who moved there from Tokyo due to her fathers work. With little in the form of entertainment or any avenue for healthy release in the area for the kids, creative or otherwise, the idle hands becomes the devil’s playground as they say. Her classmates, who attend a school that has all but collapsed due to low attendance, uncaring teachers and horrible pupils, mercilessly bully Nosaki on a daily basis. The situation escalates to a point where her parents keep her home for her safety, which results in the bullies choosing a new victim to torture in the form of a girl named Rumi. Rumi’s already fragile state of mind breaks under the weight of her resentment towards Nosaki for this new state of affairs, and the desire to prove herself to her tormentors.
Her mental state leads her to murder Nosaki’s mother and father, while critically injuring her little sister who is saved by Nosaki’s only friend, a young male classmate of hers named Aida. Nosaki survives due to not being in the house at the time of the attack, and in her grief and anger deals with her loss by slowly exacting revenge on all that she believed to have been involved.
Let me start with explaining the name of the film, Liverleaf is the name of a plant that is capable of blooming through thick snow. The flower no doubt was meant to serve as a metaphor that beautiful things can still grow in the coldest and harshest of conditions. This serves as only a small light of hope in a bleak film that is not for the squeamish, because blood is the name of this game, and director Naito is certainly playing for keeps, Takashi Mike would be proud. But while some might just see this as a film that depicts violence for violence sake, the films framing of the terrifying reality of bullying at schools, and their systemic roots makes for a subtly brilliant watch.
Scary films with demons and monsters are sometimes not altogether scary because, on the one hand, we know deep down that they do not exist, and secondly, the nature of monsters and demons are evil, so they are not capable of acting contrary to that nature. But to depict evil being exacted by school kids is horrifying simply because of its plausibility and probability. Humans have the capacity for compassion, empathy and guilt, and to see the kids acting contrary to these important emotions is something that will cut audiences psychologically just as the antagonists are cut physically. Naito does a good job of showing the conditions of which these mindsets are bred in the supporting characters, from drunk and abusive parents, to parents who are more interested in controlling every aspect of their child’s life. But as life also sometimes shows with people, in some cases, the toy is simply broken as soon as it comes out of the factory.
Liverleaf is a thriller/drama, but also belongs in a very exclusive category of film known as the ‘watch once and never again’ category. It finds itself in good company with films like Requiem for Dream, Hostel, I Spit On Your Grave, and many more. But all in all, I enjoyed the film as the characters acted in a superbly convincing way as to develop feelings of true anger and resentment. The subtly of the horror is well done and film is edited in a manner that satisfyingly connects all the events together. Perhaps one could quibble on how realistic the film is, but the reality of such decrepit and declining schools along with terrible conditions and students is unfortunately a painful reality, and not only in Japan. If you do like films that awaken you to some very harsh realities about life, then this is one film I would recommend. I hope to do more reviews in the future. But for now, I wish you happy viewing ☺.