2014
Music Box Films
4 h 30 m

2014
Music Box Films
4 h 30 m

Summary On a sleepy small town playground, a mysterious stranger approaches a group of young friends, then kidnaps and brutally murders one of the girls. Wracked with grief, the victim’s unhinged mother Asako (Kyoko Koizumi) demands that the shaken survivors identify the killer or face a penance of her choosing. Growing up in the shadow of this...

Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Written By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kanae Minato

2014
Music Box Films
4 h 30 m

2014
Music Box Films
4 h 30 m

Penance

Name: Penance
Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery
Released: 2014-11-14
Duration: 4 min 30 s
Rating: 58
Cast: Kyôko Koizumi, Hazuki Kimura, Manatsu Kimura, Kyôka Shibata, Asumi Kikuchi

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

User Score Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings

6.0

My Score

Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Written By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kanae Minato

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

57% Positive
4 Reviews

43% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
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Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

57% Positive
4 Reviews

43% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

The A.V. Club

Nov 13, 2014

The overarching theme is the slow, trickling spread of evil; the old familiar story of violence begetting violence, which Kurosawa is able to render in terms that seem mysterious and sub-rational.

By Ignatiy Vishnevetsky FULL REVIEW

The New York Times

Nov 13, 2014

Mr. Kurosawa expertly modulates an uncanny flow of energies between shame and grief, between venal urges and high-minded moral demands. The women’s travails suggest something that’s part curse, part mythic cycle of guilt and part kaleidoscopic dread.

By Nicolas Rapold FULL REVIEW

The Playlist

Nov 12, 2014

It’s a reminder of what a tremendously talented writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is, and hopefully we’ll see him venturing back to the big screen sooner rather than later.

By Oliver Lyttelton FULL REVIEW

Slant Magazine

Nov 10, 2014

The film is ultimately, and disappointingly, revealed to be a contraption that's less concerned with mental portraiture than with getting all of its expository ducks in a row.

By Chuck Bowen FULL REVIEW

Village Voice

Nov 11, 2014

While it doesn't cohere into anything more substantial than a collection of self-loathing anxieties, Japanese teledrama Penance is effectively unnerving on a scene-for-scene basis thanks to writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's preference for ambience over character-driven drama.

By Simon Abrams FULL REVIEW

The Hollywood Reporter

Nov 13, 2014

Complexly plotted, elegantly shot and orchestrated, this is the kind of long-winded, intermittently involving festival package that will earn the director of Tokyo Sonata more critical appreciation but will struggle to find a theatrical audience. For a film that requires nearly five hours of viewing investment, it feels terribly stingy on the emotional payoff.

By Deborah Young FULL REVIEW

The Dissolve

Nov 11, 2014

Unfortunately, Penance is an example of a TV movie that definitely belongs on the small screen, to be watched piecemeal over the course of several days. Consumed in one gigantic, four-and-a-half-hour gulp, it becomes painfully repetitive and monotonous.

By Mike D'Angelo FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score

Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings

6.0

40% Positive
2 Ratings

40% Mixed
2 Ratings

20% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

View All

User Score

Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings

6.0

40% Positive
2 Ratings

40% Mixed
2 Ratings

20% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Django Film, WOWOW

Release Date Nov 14, 2014

Duration 4 h 30 m

Genres

Tagline God may forgive you, but she never will.

Website http://www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/shokuzai/

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Awards

Fribourg International Film Festival

• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

Penance

Top Cast

Kyôko Koizumi

Asako, Emili's mother, Asako Adachi

Hazuki Kimura

Emiri Adachi

Manatsu Kimura

Maki, young, young Maki

Kyôka Shibata

Yuka, young, young Yuka

Asumi Kikuchi

Akiko, teenager, young

Chizuru Ikewaki

Yuka, Mayu's sister

Erika Komata

Sae, young, young Sae

Eiko Koike

Maki, Teacher

Ayumi Ito

Mayu, Yuka's elder sister

Ryo Kase

Akiko's brother, Koji

Tomoharu Hasegawa

Keita, Mayu's husband

Nanaka Fuji

Koji's step-daughter, Wakaba

Sakura Ando

Akiko, Young

Kazuaki Shimizu

Principal

Chigusa Takaku

Teacher

Chika Uchida

Haruhana, Koji's wife

Tarô Suwa

Akiko's father

Jyonmyon Pe

Kazuya

Seika Kuze

Sae's Mother

Hitomi Takahashi

Akiko's mother

Critic Reviews

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Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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