Trailer: ‘Broken Commandment’
By Phil Mills | Jul 4, 2022
‘Broken Commandment’ (破戒 / Hakai) is a 2022 Japanese period romantic drama directed by Kazuo Maeda.
Based on a novel by Toson Shimazaki, the film revolves around a schoolteacher who is encouraged to conceal his lower class background but constantly finds himself struggling with a crisis of conscience. The cast includes Shotaro Mamiya, Anna Ishii, Yuma Yamoto, Hidekazu Mashima, and Kazuya Takahashi.
Synopsis: At the strong insistence of his father, Ushimatsu Segawa conceals his origins from a “buraku” area of low-class “untouchables,” leaving his hometown to serve as an elementary school teacher where he excels and is loved by his students. But he constantly struggles with the secret of his low-birth status and is disturbed by all of the discrimination levelled upon his class. It prevents him from pursuing a romance with Shiho, whom he meets at the temple where he resides, but who descends from a samurai family.
Despite strong support and friendship from his colleague, Ginnosuke, Ushimatsu’s secret begins to reveal itself when he expresses his fondness for the free-thinking writer and poet, Rentaro Inoko, who also hails from a Buraku community. But when he gets a chance to meet the controversial author, Ushimatsu can’t bring himself to open up to him. It isn’t until Inoko is murdered after giving a rousing and moving speech about human dignity and equality that Ushimatsu takes up the mantle of justice and human equality in front of all of his students. [Source: JFDB]
‘Broken Commandment’ opens across Japan on July 8, 2022.
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