{"id":30305,"date":"2025-06-15T20:29:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T00:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=30305"},"modified":"2025-06-19T15:12:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T19:12:56","slug":"tribeca-2025-sham-review-takashi-miike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=30305","title":{"rendered":"Tribeca Film Festival Review: Takashi Miike\u2019s \u2018Sham\u2019 Departs from His Genre Roots by Exploring True Life Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were to go into the Japanese crime-drama, <\/span>Sham<\/i><\/b>, without any advance knowledge, you might assume it\u2019s the new film from Kore-eda or Oscar-winning filmmaker Ry\u00fbsuke Hamaguchi (<\/span>Drive My Car<\/i><\/b>). Going into the movie knowing it\u2019s directed by Takashi Miike is likely to lead to all sorts of expectations, since, for better or worse and to most Americans, Miike will always be best-known for his gory 1999 horror film, <\/span>Audition<\/i><\/b>, and other similar genre fare. In fact, Miike has made over a hundred movies in his native Japan, a good percentage, which have never been released in the United States. It was already a little strange to see his name attached to a movie debuting at this year\u2019s <\/span>Tribeca Film Festival<\/span><\/a>, since we normally would see his movies at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal (he has three there this year) or at the New York Asian Film Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sham<\/span><\/i> is adapted from journalist Masumi Fukuda\u2019s 2007 non-fiction novel, \u201cFabrication: The Truth About The \u2018Murder Teacher\u2019 in Fukuoka,\u201d which in itself is a true story and a grounded drama with none of the gore or anime influences that have been pervasive in Miike\u2019s more recent filmography. It does make one wonder how this project came his way and whether the filmmaker is deliberately trying to change his image even back home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set in 2003, the film revolves around the behavior of an elementary school teacher named Seiichi Yabushita, played by G\u00f4 Ayano, whose first appearance in a Miike film was the 2009 gangster film, <\/span>Crows Zero 2<\/i><\/b>. We meet the teacher as he\u2019s haranguing one of his young students (Miura Kira) for being mixed-race with an American grandfather, which seems to be motivation enough for the teacher to demean the student horribly in front of his classmates. Later, he urges the boy to jump off the school roof, which leads to his parents wanting Seiichi to get suspended, and that soon leads to a criminal case that ruins his career. As with many true stories, not everything is what it seems, and we soon are watching the same story but from the teacher\u2019s perspective, which makes one think that someone has clearly been lying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

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There are aspects of <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i> that feel very much like Kore-eda\u2019s <\/span>Monster<\/span><\/i> from a few years back, where there is an incident at a school involving a teacher, with other details and perspectives revealed that make the viewer question what is true. Other recent movies that have explored similar themes of classroom impropriety include the German Oscar nominee, <\/span>The Teacher\u2019s Lounge<\/i><\/b>, or the even more recent Norwegian drama, <\/span>Armand<\/i><\/b>, starring Renate Reinsve. Obviously, the idea of what is happening to kids when they are at school outside their parents\u2019 care, or even what is happening to them at home, unbeknownst to teachers, is something that has generated much interest among filmmakers, but more internationally than here in the States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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K\u00f4 Shibasaki in Sham (photo courtesy Toei)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much of <\/span>Sham <\/span><\/i>takes place in the courtroom, where various individuals and witnesses share what they\u2019ve seen and what they know about the incidents for which Seiichi has being accused. We also watch how the allegations are affecting his home life and ability to find another job. So much about Japan living involves maintaining a positive public perception, or at least a low profile, and that\u2019s impossible once the allegations against Seiichi are made public. In that sense, <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i> is also reminiscent of Thomas Vinterberg\u2019s <\/span>The Hunt<\/span><\/i>, a film for which Mads Mikkelsen should have received an Oscar nomination for his performance as a teacher falsely accused of molesting a student. Like with <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i>, you\u2019re given enough of the benefit of a doubt to think that Seeichi didn\u2019t do some of the horrible things that we actually see him doing during the film\u2019s first act. Are those scenes meant to be lies that are visualized for the viewer\u2019s benefit? It\u2019s hard to tell, and that\u2019s one of the more frustrating aspects of <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are other times when <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i> moves at a glacial pace, with moments that drag so much it\u2019s hard not to get irritated about it. There is one long scene with Seeichi sitting at a table discussing the case with his lawyer, essentially one long two-shot that seems to stretch on for 15 or 20 minutes, making one wonder if Miike-san\u2019s editor or producers were afraid to speak up and say something about how that scene kills any potential momentum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lacking many of Miike\u2019s flashier bells and whistles, <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i> may be somewhat disappointing to the Japanese filmmaker\u2019s long-time fanbase, yet it could be seen as a step forward for Miike as a filmmaker, only since it\u2019s more the type of film Japan might consider pushing for its Oscar submission. Some aspects will be relatable to Americans, for sure, especially those with children in school, but other aspects (like the glacial pace) don\u2019t help to make it one of Miike\u2019s less memorable or impactful efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating: <\/b>B<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, Miike\u2019s <\/span>Sham<\/span><\/i> doesn\u2019t have American distribution, but following its recent premiere at the <\/span>Tribeca Film Festival<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, and then screen at the <\/span>Fantasia International Film Festival<\/span><\/a> sometime in July or August.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribe to CinemaDaily US\u2019 YouTube channel for more video content.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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Director: <\/b>Takashi Miike<\/span><\/p>\n

Screenwriter:<\/b> Masumi Fukuda, Hayashi Mori\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cast:\u00a0 <\/b>K\u00f4 Shibasaki, G\u00f4 Ayano, Kaoru Kobayashi, Kazuki Kitamura, Fumino Kimura, Kazuya Kamenashi, Ken Mitsuishi<\/span><\/p>\n

Producer: <\/b>Keiichi Hashimoto, Shigeji Maeda, Misako Saka, Ken’ichi Wasano<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Production Co: <\/b>Toei<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/b> Unrated<\/span><\/p>\n

Genre:<\/b> Drama<\/span><\/p>\n

Language:<\/b> Japanese<\/span><\/p>\n

Release Date (Theaters):<\/b> June 27, 2025 (Japan)<\/span><\/p>\n

Runtime:<\/b> 2 hours, 9 minutes<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/ins><\/span><\/p>\n

If you like this video interview, please share your comments below.<\/b><\/p>\n

Check out more of Edward Douglas\u2019 articles<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can watch the Japanese trailer below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n