The invisible violence reflected in the multifaceted truth: An interview with director Takashi Miike on "Fabrication"

Reexamining the nature of violence

"Violence is not just about depictions of violence. The situations that the characters create can also be violent."

This was director Miike Takashi's response when asked what violent elements his new film, "Fabrication: The Man Called Murderous Teacher," contains.

This work is based on the reportage "Fabrication: The Truth Behind the Fukuoka 'Murderous Teacher' Incident" (Shincho Bunko) by Masumi Fukuda, which won the 6th Shincho Document Award.

The plot of the film goes like this: In 2003, the first case of bullying of a child by a teacher was recognized in Japan. Following a report in a weekly magazine, the teacher in charge was labeled "the worst murderous teacher in history" and suspended from work. A "large legal team of 550 people" was then formed to defend the child, and the case escalated into a civil lawsuit. Everyone who saw the report was convinced that the parents would win. However, the trial began with the teacher in charge completely denying the allegations, saying that "everything was a baseless fabrication."

"People are bombarded with information from the media without any protection, and they swallow it whole, which makes them feel comfortable and puts them on the side of justice. I think that situation itself is very violent."

He spoke quietly, but with a look of confidence in his eyes.

"It's a fear that's relevant to today's social media age. Not long ago, you only had to be afraid of becoming a victim of slander, but now there's an equally high chance you could become a perpetrator. An incident that should sound this alarm actually happened about 20 years ago."

Three-dimensional depiction of characters

The protagonist, teacher Yabushita Seiichi, is played by Ayano Go, who is working with Miike for the first time in 16 years since "Crows Zero II" (2009). He skillfully portrays the process in which his daily life falls apart as he becomes a target of the media, with the changing sparkle in his eyes and the tension in his body.

Ko Shibasaki, who plays Himuro Ritsuko, the mother who denounces corporal punishment, sometimes gets emotional, but she also portrays the anger and sense of justice she feels toward the injustice she claims her child has suffered, all with a certain core strength. Other actors who appear in the film include Kamenashi Kazuya, Kimura Fumino, and Kobayashi Kaoru, and their unique performances lend persuasiveness to this story based on a true story.

One of the interesting techniques used in this work is the approach of depicting the same scene from both Yabushita's and Ritsuko's perspectives. One particularly memorable scene is when Yabushita, played by Ayano, makes a clicking sound with his mouth. From Yabushita's perspective, he is simply trying to remove something stuck in his teeth, but to Ritsuko, it clearly appears as a clicking of the tongue.

The film clearly conveys through its visuals that the same event can reveal completely different "truths" depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Its neutral approach poses deeper questions to the viewer that go beyond a simple tale of good triumphing over evil.

In this film, director Miike chose to portray all characters on an equal footing, without favoring any particular one.

"There's at least one thing about every character that makes you think, 'Ah, I can relate to that,' or 'I have that kind of thing too.' For example, Ritsuko, who could easily be called a 'monster parent,' is somehow appealing if you take an interest and look closely."

As a result of portraying all the characters in three dimensions, the audience is able to see the whole picture of the incident from multiple angles, rather than unilaterally defending Yabushita or criticizing Ritsuko.

Furthermore, he sympathizes with the original author's research approach.

"When Fukuda, the original author, wrote his report, he must have conducted his research in the same way. He began his research by attending the trial, and began to suspect that something was wrong. He then expanded his research to include the defendant's teachers and the plaintiff's parents, and through careful investigation, he arrived at an unexpected truth. This came across clearly in the original work. That's why, in the film too, I made it a priority to carefully depict the process of pursuing the truth. The purpose of the work is not to uncover the truth, but to portray the process of pursuing the truth itself as entertainment."

Filmmaking Philosophy

Looking back at Miike's career, this "outside the box" approach can be seen as a consistent theme throughout his creative endeavors. Over his 40-year career, he has made over 70 films, spanning a wide range of genres, from horror and suspense to chivalry, period dramas, comedies, and V-cinema.

His policy is clear: he never turns down any job, as long as it fits his schedule and can be adapted into a film. Furthermore, he always accepts projects, no matter how low the budget. This attitude is perhaps a reflection of his creative outlook, which sees creative possibilities in all subjects and conditions.

However, there are surely jobs that no one is interested in or projects that they would rather avoid. So why can you find any job interesting?

"Even if other people say that a job is impossible based on current common sense, I don't think so. I'm sure there's probably some way to do it, and I'm sure it's possible. On the other hand, I also have a bit of a defiant attitude, saying, 'Just let me express myself freely.' (laughs)"

He cites an impressive experience he had on set to explain his unique approach to creation.

"When I was an assistant director, there was a cameraman on set who yelled, 'How long are you going to let me keep filming?!' I was surprised when I heard that. If you really want to shoot something that you're satisfied with, you can shoot even just one take all night. There's no right answer, like trying different lighting methods or changing this or that. You can try as many things as you want.

But in reality, everyone has to work according to a schedule, so they compromise and take the photos. How they compromise is the key to success. I felt that this photographer wasn't "taking the photos" himself, but was "being forced to take the photos."

One of director Miike's masterpieces, "Audition" (1999), is a film in which he exerted all his efforts to make something interesting despite a limited budget and difficult circumstances. Upon its release, it attracted more attention overseas than in Japan, and it still maintains a cult following today, even becoming a subject of lectures in American film schools.

"Recently, some of the people who studied there have been hired by distribution companies as producers, and they've approached me and said, 'Let's make a joint Japanese-American film.' We're currently making preparations for that."

Director Miike has been making over 70 films for over 30 years since his debut, but far from waning, his creative drive continues to expand into new areas.

Describing his new film "Dechiage: The Man Called Murderous Teacher" as "a type of film that cannot be categorized into any of my previous works, and is unlike anything I have ever made," the essence of the story is "violence," a hallmark of Miike's films. However, what is depicted is not physical violence, but the invisible violence caused by information and preconceptions. For those of us living in the age of social media, the questions posed by this film are not something that only affect us.