BOX: The Hakamada Case

Seen at the Rome film festival, "Box" Hakamada Jiken Inochi Towa is a movie that constructs without judging, observes without complain, tells a long story without claiming anything. This is a story about judging, and about the true statement that "when you judge someone, you are under judgment as well". All the story moves around this concept. The Japanese boxe champion is forced to admit the cruel murder of 4 people, but we actually don't know if he's guilty or not. The mere fact he's forced, doesn't means that he was innocent, as a judge says. The cast is superb, the actors are great, the photograph is simply perfect, and you won't find a single moment of rhetoric on this story. Even the tough part of prison-tortures is in a way honest: it doesn't want to move you to tears, is not cold as a reportage, but neither theatrical as it could have been. To me was by far the best movie at the Festival, with a deep and intense final question. Because you too, and all of us, we have the right to judge.