Penance (TV series)

Plot

A young girl, Emili, is killed by a stranger in elementary school. Although her four friends saw the suspect, they say they don't remember it. 15 years have passed and the incident is still unsolved. Emili's mother, Asako (Kyoko Koizumi), makes them do penance for it. The series focuses on the psychological repercussions on each of the four girls, 15 years later.

Cast

Release

The 270-minute film version of the drama screened out of competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.

Reception

Oliver Lyttelton of IndieWire gave Penance a B- grade. He felt the first four segments are so unexpectedly funny, rich and moving that it makes more disappointing that Kiyoshi Kurosawa can't bring it to a satisfying close. Meanwhile, he also commented that the film is a reminder of what a tremendously talented writer and director Kurosawa is. Todd Brown of Twitch Film felt each episode is meticulously well constructed and beautifully performed. He said Penance is certainly an intriguing and worthwhile investment of time and effort despite not being up to the standards of Kurosawa's best work.

Mark Schilling of The Japan Times said, "throughout the series the Kurosawa style, minimalist but atmospheric, imparts an eerie, intimate tension to even the most mundane scenes, while revealing inner lives more by incisive suggestion than the usual TV-drama shouting." Andrew Sun of South China Morning Post noted the video quality and the predictable structure are constant reminders of that it is a television project. However, he said, "little of Kurosawa's brooding style is lost in the smaller budget and extreme close-ups demanded of the smaller screen."