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Film: Liverleaf (Misumisô)
Year: 2018
Director: Eisuke Naitô
Writer: Miako Tadano
Starring: Anna Yamada, Hiroya Shimizu and Rinka Ôtani
Review:
This is a film that I didn’t know about until I was looking for winter based horror films. It appeared on a list. When I learned that it was from Japan, that enticed me more to check it out. I didn’t realize until after the fact that this is based on a manga by Rensuke Oshikiri. It took a bit of time to find this streaming online and through making sure I had the correct film, I started to read more about the synopsis. I did come in as blind as possible.
Synopsis: we follow Nozaki Haruka (Anna Yamada), a middle school student who transferred to a new school in a small town because of her father’s work. Unfortunately, she becomes a victim of horrific bullying, but since school closes in 2 months after graduation, no one is willing to help.
Like the synopsis said, we’re following Haruka. We see her talking to Mitsuru Aiba (Hiroya Shimizu). I’m not fully sure if they’re dating or both have feelings toward each other. She then leaves to walk home. It is during this we see how badly she’s bullied. She runs into a group. They take her shoes, throw them into a pit that is muddy and she ends up falling trying to retrieve them. I’ll point out that the leader of this group is Taeko Oguro (Rinka Otani). She’s less vocal about what is going on.
Haruka’s father comes in to talk to her teacher to see what can be done about the bullying. What we’ll learn is that the teacher was a victim herself growing up. With how unruly the teens are, she shies away, not wanting to be bullied by them. She all but lets them run amok. We also see that Haruka’s father is attacked when he’s leaving the school.
It is then decided that Haruka’s parents will allow her to skip the rest of the school year, as a way of protecting her. This annoys the group of bullies. They then enlist the aid of Rumi Sayama (Rena Ôtsuka). They force her, stating that if she doesn’t help them, then they’ll take it out on her. She goes over to Haruka’s house and inquires when she’ll return. Rumi borrows a CD and relays what she was told.
Things then escalate from here. Haruka's house is set on fire while she’s away with Aiba. Her parents don’t survive and her sister is left in a coma due to the burns. Haruka decides to get her own revenge. She returns to school, much to the shock of the bullies. Members of the group are racked with guilt, but peer pressure has a funny way of getting people to do things. Haruka has plans for them as she isolates the culprits. True nature is revealed as she gets her revenge.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that this is a brutal little film. There are things that I did have to suspend disbelief with, but that goes along with the idea that we are watching a movie. Plus, it is based off a manga which is something else to consider. I’m not saying that the premise is out of the realm of possibilities. It just feels like a stretch.
Let’s then delve more into this premise. The Nozaki family—mother, father, Haruka, and young sister Shoko (Sena Tamayori)—moved to this rural area for their father's work. Haruka is an outsider, and since the locals have been together since childhood, they treat newcomers poorly. I can understand that having transferred from a city to a country school while I was still at the elementary level showed me similar, though less extreme, cliquish behavior.
What is interesting here is that this almost feels like a prequel to Battle Royale in the respect that we’re seeing how depraved the youths are. I know that is slightly futuristic so it fits. I get the idea that because the school is located where it is, the teens haven’t truly experienced consequences. They’re coddled and with no one to set them straight, the violence ramps up. We are also seeing that at least two of them are psychopaths. I won’t spoil one, but we see that gradually reveal itself. There are a couple of boys that are playing with a crossbow and a BB gun as well.
Let’s then touch on the revenge aspect. Haruka is forced into what she does. This group has taken everything from her so she’s given up. I’ll include the effects here as some are just brutal. I know one gets their septum crushed, that made me cringe. There is another one that shocked me the levels that it went to fairly early on. I’d guess that we’re getting a combination of practical and CGI effects to bring this to life. I would prefer going with more of the former, but what we get still looks solid.
I think then finishing out with the aspects is where I’ll go. Effective cinematography and framing enhance the CGI and convey the cold, bleak setting with a limited cast. Much of the action takes place near the woods, which ties into the title: the liverleaf plant flowers in winter, offering a hopeful contrast to the events. The film is slightly overlong, but the soundtrack is fitting. I’d say that this is made well across the board.
Before moving away completely, I did want to finish discussing the themes. Going along with the bullying and revenge, which shows the transformation or the metamorphosis of Haruka. You could see with it other characters as well, as they do the unspeakable. It is the escalation of violence. There is also a commentary here on the nihilism of humanity. There is the inescapable brutality and our leads are all morally ambiguous. We also have a lack of authority to hold these teens accountable. There is a desire to escape that seems unattainable.
All that is left then are the acting performances. I do think that Yamada is interesting here. She shows emotions before everyone is taken from her. She then has a stoic nature as she gets her revenge. It is terrifyingly cold. Shimizu is interesting as her boyfriend. What I like there is that we see a different level of depravity as he’s rejected in a sense. Otani and her crew are good. What is interesting there is that she is softened through a back story with Haruka. Ôtsuka has an intriguing arch. The acting is good across the board.
In conclusion, this is a fiercely bleak and brutal film that excels as a chilling exploration of bullying, revenge, and the nihilistic cruelty of youth when unchecked by authority. Though requiring some suspension of disbelief due to its manga origins, the film delivers on its promise of escalating violence and shocking moments, supported by solid acting from Yamada and the supporting cast. The effective cinematography beautifully captures the cold, isolating environment, contrasting it with the hopeful symbolism of the liverleaf flower. While slightly extended in runtime, the overall production quality is high, making it a compelling, albeit difficult, watch for fans of Japanese horror and extreme psychological thrillers.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10