Misery and mystery are close companions in the fictions of Kanae Minato. Her 2008 debut novel, ¡°Confessions¡± ¡ª memorably adapted by filmmaker Tetsuya Nakashima ¡ª was a prime example of what¡¯s known in Japanese as iyamisu, a portmanteau combining the words for unpleasant (iya) and mystery, the author¡¯s genre of choice.
It¡¯s a formula that Minato has returned to frequently. 2018¡¯s ¡°Mirai¡± (¡°Future¡±) employed a typical constellation of calamity, including child abuse, forced prostitution and incest. However, it was also the author¡¯s first book to feature an afterword, in which she stressed that her story was intended to raise awareness of real-world problems, rather than just offer vicarious thrills.
That distinction seems to have been lost on Takahisa Zeze, whose adaptation of ¡°Mirai¡± (retitled ¡°Cry Out¡± for the international market) has turned the novel into a lurid, overwrought melodrama where the suffering seems to be the entire point.
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