CONFESSIONS OF A DOG

(A.k.a. POCHI NO KOKUHAKU)

Regular cop Takeda (Shun Sugata) stands bored outside a local koban - a miniature police station situated in the middle of a Japanese street - moaning to his duty captain that there are no crimes to solve. The captain suggests they look for people to arrest, or at least find themselves a "slut to fuck".

When a pretty young student passes by and asks Takeda directions to a nearby rock concert, the captain hauls her in to the koban for questioning - in the hope that she will offer her wares to the officers. Instead, back at the station, he is reprimanded for hassling her: it transpires that she was the daughter of an influential local politician.

Takeda, a paragon of virtue in comparison to the snivelling little captain, is favoured by his superior Mie (Gen Idemitsu) for his acts of public assistance and duly promoted to detective. But it's this initiation into the inner circle of his bosses that exposes Takeda to a shocking succession of corruption ... and ultimately draws him into it too.

The spiral begins slowly, but convincingly enough. Ostensibly a good man and devoted as much to his job as he is to his loyal wife Chiyoko (Harumi Inoue), Takeda is first coerced by Mie into employing illegal tactics to lure a psychotic away from his victimised girlfriend.

From there, falsified expenses claims, bribery and sexual harassment seem to be examples of normalcy for these uniformed thugs. Events get more heated as Takeda's confidence in his role extends to him beating the shit out of suspects, eliciting sexual favours from underage prostitutes and planting narcotics to ensure arrests.

But all of this is being closely monitored by intrepid freelance journalist Kusama (Junichi Kawamoto) and his photographer buddy Ricky (Kunihiko Ida).

However, despite the shocking revelations that Kusama and Ricky hold in their possession, they find it tough-going trying to get their story published and bringing the dirty cops to justice. Especially as it seems the courts of the land and the media itself are easily manipulated by the bent police system ...

Gen Takahashi has made a handful of films since the early 1990s but this one, inspired by true-life events and designed as an expose on the real Japanese police force - as opposed to the ones portrayed as noble heroes in yakuza thrillers throughout the last few decades - is his first of real note.

Building steadily during the course of a whopping 192-minute running time, CONFESSIONS OF A DOG (the "Pochi" of the original Japanese title translates as "pooch", slang for cop) utilises its first third to portray Takeda as a decent man - his greatest vice is ambition. The fact that his character is so well-developed and believable during this initial hour makes it all the more emotionally powerful when his descent into violent lawlessness occurs.

Around him, a persuasive collection of despicable characters are painted extremely well. Against them, the plight of Kusama and Ricky seems futile. But they, also flawed individuals, stick to their guns and much of the unfolding dramatic tension stems from their parallel story - leading to an authentically shocking finale that brings both worlds to into collision.

Superbly performed, unfussily shot and focusing impressively on the reality of life in modern-day Japan, Takahashi's film plays like the bastard offspring of SERPICO and CITY OF GOD. It matters not that there have been far too many "corrupt cop" films over the last four decades, as this is one of the most sprawling, comprehensive and consummately constructed examples yet.

Epic, riveting and at times unconscionably brutal - it's a remarkable tale told in an unforgettable manner, and is destined for 'classic' status. Such is its resonance that the film was effectively banned in Japan upon its completion, as no distributor would touch it until last year. Now, that is one hot political potato.

CONFESSIONS OF A DOG is ultimately a film that it is rare to savour nowadays: one that truly deserves the accolade of "exceptional".

Disc one of this surprising two-disc set from Third Window is home to the film in all its violent, uncut and grandiose glory. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio and enhanced for 16x9 television sets.

The picture is somewhat soft and, although it's all clean and blessed with strong colours, there is a fine grain that lends the film a look of 70s cinema. At first it's jarring to see such a recent production (it was shot in 2005) looking this dated, but ultimately it aides CONFESSIONS in harking back to the films that clearly inspired its style - without ever adopting a forced 'retro' style. Remaining natural to its 35mm film origins, the transfer is a strong one.

The Japanese audio track provided offers a solid and unproblematic original 2.0 mix, while English subtitles are easy to read and only occasionally blighted by errors.

The disc's animated main menu page offers the option of watching the film with or without the subtitles.

An animated scene-selection menu allows access to the main feature via 20 chapters.

Disc two opens with static menus which lead into some very worthy extras, offering plenty of insight into the film.

These start with an excellent 42-minute documentary that looks into the making of the film. A fast pace ensures that this offers a wealth of information in the form of superb behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, outtakes and candid comments from cast and crew members. The sincerity of the production shines through, as does the enthusiasm of a collective who've sussed that they are involved in creating something special.

The film's 3-minute theatrical trailer is a proper old-school affair: exciting, violent and a perfect appetiser for the main attraction.

A 10-minute interview with Takahashi follows, in which questions appear on screen as text, for the amiable director to answer to an off-screen interviewer. Although his memory fails him occasionally, Takahashi makes for an engaging subject and gives enough to add further enlightenment into the origins of the production.

Two featurettes are next, both of which were filmed at Toronto's 2nd annual Shinsedai Film Festival in August 2010. The first is a panel discussion which includes the director holding his own against English-speaking counterparts (14 minutes); the second is an enjoyable audience Q&A with Takahashi, post-screening of his remarkable film (16 minutes).

All of the above extras come with English subtitles to cover instances of Japanese audio.

Disc two is rounded off by trailers for a plethora of other Third Window titles: SAY YES, FISH STORY, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS, PEPPERMINT CANDY, THE PRESIDENT'S LAST BANG, FRIEND, NO BLOOD NO TEARS, WILD CARD, GUNS AND TALKS, KICK THE MOON, PTU, CONFESSIONS, MEMORIES OF MATSUKO, KAKERA, LOVE EXPOSURE, LALA PIPO, INSTANT SWAMP, FINE TOTALLY FINE, TURTLES ARE SURPRISINGLY FAST SWIMMERS and FUNUKE.

Available for a nice price online, this two-disc set is definitely value for money. The film is vital, exciting movie-making - a real find. The extras are a great, relevant collection of supplements.

Furthermore, the first 1,000 copies come with a collectable 35mm film cell postcard.

Highly recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis