Soromon no gishou: Kouhen saiban (2015) Reviews

• The death of god

  jansuing2018-04-17

  Solomon's Perjury begins with the death of a young man and ends with the death of god. The ending and ultimate reveal may not be the shocker many would expect it to be, but I'd dare say it's meant to be that way. I'll tell you why, but first... Despite the four-hour long combined running time of its two parts and it being a slow burner of a suspense thriller, there's never a dull moment in Solomon's Perjury, thanks to the beautiful cinematography and the shocking revelations scattered all throughout its length. The story -- told with remarkable finesse and restraint -- is pretty straightforward: a student fell off a school building and died. Now, his classmates must find the truth about his death; was he killed or did he kill himself? A strength of the film lies in its careful Freudian treatment of its characters. They are never the annoying 2-D caricatures one would usually see in Philippine television and cinema. The characters here are flawed and complex, just like actual human beings, allowing the audience to simultaneously sympathize and suspect them of a possible crime they may or may not have committed. Perhaps, the most disturbing thing about watching the film for me isn't really the shocking deaths; it's the benefit of the doubt and the generosity of understanding I was willing to give some of the characters, notwithstanding their actions ruined the lives of others. The trial that culminates this epic thriller is an important metaphor for the search of truth that marks the contemporary human condition. Humankind has been going through great lengths to perform make-believe charades in an attempt to console their innately meaningless, purposeless existence. We seek justice and pretend we have it. But the nihilism that grips our lives never really goes away. Just as how the film ends in a low, perhaps unsatisfying, note to some, life really has no definitive answers to its existential questions. An examined life isn't really the abundance of answers nor is it distinguished by never-ending happiness. Perhaps, it's the courageous acceptance that maybe, just maybe, we are but a beautiful accident.

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