There’s no denying that Takashi Miike’s “Sham” is dramatically effective. However, it may be one of the rare courtroom thrillers that is, at times, too effective for its own good. One would think there’s no such thing, but the movie’s engrossing visual and tonal language is all about seeding doubt, a promise on which Miike over-delivers, resulting in a tale that remains in morally gray territory long after it means to.
The film is based on a real 2003 court case — and a subsequent book by journalist Masumi Fukuda — in which a Japanese elementary school teacher was accused of physically and emotionally tormenting a student, who allegedly
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