Mr Hasumi, English teacher at a Japanese secondary school, is every teenager’s dream. He is handsome, friendly and cool. He is also popular among the other teachers because of his clever methods of combating cribbing. Mr Hasumi defends his pupils: he efficiently tackles a gym teacher who can’t keep his hands off the kids. His motives are however far from altruistic. That’s no surprise. The viewer knows right from the terrifying start that disaster is looming.
This clever thriller gradually goes off the rails in spilling blood à la Battle Royale meets American Psycho. Miike’s masterful signature can be seen in the crafted narrative, the stunning art direction and creative torture techniques, with a soldering iron proving its usefulness this time. Film for the fans. The creepy soundtrack, in which several versions of Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht’s Mack the Knife can be heard, will reverberate in everyone’s head for a long time to come. Also see For Love’s Sake.
Film details
- Country of production
- Japan
- Year
- 2012
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2013
- Length
- 129'
- Medium/Format
- HDcam
