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‘Sham’ Review: Takashi Miike’s Real-Life Courtroom Thriller Ends Up Shedding Its Complexities
Takashi Miike's courtroom thriller 'Sham' takes a 'Rashomon' approach to a true tale of abuse — to mixed results.
The film is based on a real 2003 court case — and a subsequent book by journalist Masumi Fukuda — in which a Japanese elementary school teacher was accused of physically and emotionally tormenting a student, who allegedly came close to suicide. The student’s mixed American heritage (by way of a great grandparent) was the alleged focus of racist remarks, which the boy’s mother would bring to light with the help of diligent reporters, when the school’s administrators failed to act. “Sham,” however, is a movie that trades in uncertainties, with a structure initially akin to Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon.” Miike first lays out the inciting accusations through the courtroom testimony of the mother, Ritsuko Himuro (Ko Shibasaki), in a lengthy prologue that reveals the vicious behavior of teacher Seichii Yabushita (Go Ayano) towards her son Takuto (Kira Miura).
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