Confessions

is a 2010 Japanese psychological thriller film directed by Tetsuya Nakashima, based on author Kanae Minato's 2008 debut mystery novel that won the 2009 Honya Taisho award (Japan Booksellers Award). The film was both a commercial and critical success. It was awarded Best Picture at the 34th Japan Academy Prize and 53rd Blue Ribbon Awards and was shortlisted at the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Plot Junior high school teacher Yuko Moriguchi (Takako Matsu) announces to her rowdy, disrespectful class that she will resign before spring break. She explains that because the HIV-positive father of her four-year-old daughter Manami was ill, she used to bring the girl to school with her. One day, Manami was found drowned in the school swimming pool. She explains that two students in her class, whom she dubs "Student A" and "Student B", had murdered her daughter. Yuko had found a small bunny purse among Manami's belongings which did not belong there, which led her to question Shuya Watanabe, one of her students. Shuya, Student A, admitted to killing Manami, then mocked her compassionate reaction with, "Just kidding." Having revealed their identities, Yuko explains that because the killers, as minors, are protected by the Juvenile Law of 1947, turning them in wouldn't make a difference. As a teacher, she believes she must teach them a lesson by making them amend for their mistakes. She reveals she injected Manami's father's HIV-contaminated blood in the milk cartons of the two students who murdered Manami. The rest of the film switches between the aftermath of Yuko's confession and the events before the confession through first-person narratives from Yuko and three of her students. Naoki Shimomura, Student B, becomes a shut-in because he believes he has contracted AIDS from drinking the contaminated milk. His mother realizes her son was involved in Manami's death and decides to commit murder-suicide to free both of them from their torment. However, in the ensuing struggle, Naoki kills his mother and the police arrest him. Meanwhile, Shuya explains that his mother abused him before leaving to pursue her scientific career. Her abandonment drove him to thrive in science, from making small inventions to recording his killing and dissecting of animals.