Misumisô

A bullied girl seeks to avenge the deaths of her parents, grievous injury of her sister and the fire that destroyed their home.

This was a ...meh film for me. There was some effort put into most of the characters and that's always a big thing for me. The acting was decent but the pace was a bit slow.

I've seen some reviewer's commenting on the level of gore but I wasn't impressed. I watch a lot of horror though and I may be a bit desensitized from over exposure. It just wasn't as gory as I expected.

It's not awful so, I say check it out.

I haven't read the graphic novel on which this film is based so I am judging on its own.

The film contains the usual Japanese-style over-the-top bordering psychotically cruel bullying. Until one day the little cretins tormenting main character Nozaki cross the line and payback time comes around.

While the movie is graphic and gory enough to prevent a slip into boredom, viewers not used to Japanese cinema will have to really grit their teeth to stick with it, as the characters' reactions to violence and pain is characteristically Japanese: whether poked, prodded, or stabbed, they react with mute astonishment and passive inaction. Who stands and screams when they know they're next up on the chopping block? Answer: only people in Japanese movies. The only thing that saves it is the unrestrained gore.

But even the bloodbaths in the movie don't prevent it from testing your patience. At this running length, it really overstays its welcome. I had to repeatedly jump through snooze-inducing parts where a character is walking in the snow or reminiscing over good old times or just having a pointless conversation.

"Liverleaf" (2018) directed by Eisuke Naitô based this story on a teen dystopian view on "bullying" and angst. The film is a cinematic interpretation of the manga comic, "Misumisô" by Rensuke Oshikiri. The main target of the bullying is focused on "Haruka Nozaki" (helmed by Anna Yamada) and her family in a nondescript small town.

Naitô stays true to the type of overtop violence found in Japanese graphic novels. Most of violence was filmed in a stylish manner, even to the clothing and injuries endured onto the teen characters.

"Liverleaf" or "Misumisô" refers to a beautiful purple flower that blooms in the winter landscapes, which why many outdoor scenes were in amidst the social snowy landscape. Nozaki's revenge on her bullies starts to toil when a snowstorm appears.

Teen actors were good at delivering psychotic behavior, like the character, "Rumi" played by Rena Ôtsuka. Aside from the celluloid teen assaults, it is a teen love story, or stories. As the film proceeds to a dwindling number of teen survivors, there are plot discovery of a triangle appears.

I had viewed it at an international film festival where most of the viewers were starting to laugh when the violent scenes came up. I feel that their laughing was to deal with the on-screen gore; I would think that Naitô would please to see these reactions.

One of those movies that you are expecting a boring movie about teenagers been bullying but this was an existing one for all of those like me that enjoy Japanese manga incredible and unexpected.

I liked the progressively more violent and gore turn of this movie. The scenes are really pleasant and aesthetic and the plot itself it's interesting. It talks about bullying but takes it to an exponential level of caos, along with some nice unexpected turns.