Where do I begin with this movie? To call it a masterpiece is not too much of an overstatement, considering that it's a movie which gives you plenty of material to ponder over. I think I spent half the movie deluding myself thinking that this was going to be the average cookie cutter movie...and boy was I wrong. This movie has a weird charm, it's oddly disturbing but immensely intriguing that you cannot help but be engrossed in it. The story is as the summary describes: a teacher grieved by the loss of her child decides to take matters in to her own hands. The mystery of how this murder was committed is revealed in the first twenty minutes of the movie; and if you're wondering what material that leaves for the rest of the movie, rest assured it is phenomenal. What follows is a story pieced together through the perspectives of various partakers of the crime, and a story so engrossing you cannot tear your eyes off of it. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life in this movie, and portrayed the raw emotions that makes the movie the masterpiece that it is. Our protagonists who were acting out the role of middle school kids specially deserve a tonne of praise for their commendable acting. What I liked the most about the movie is how invested in the story I was till the very end. No matter how disturbing some of the events were (and there are a few hair raisers in this one), the quest to find out how this entire saga concludes was a tremendous driving force. This movie makes you feel a roller-coaster worth of emotions; you start off feeling sad for the tremendous injustice, somewhere in the middle you feel righteousness exists in the world, down the road you wonder if the characters deserve some sympathy, and by the end all these emotions just jumble up together! I liked how there were so many layers to this movie, every arc of the movie felt like completing a puzzle, only to find out in the next arc that you were using the wrong picture for the puzzle reference to begin with. The story unraveling makes it hard to stick to one side for the entire movie, humanity wins somewhere in the middle and makes you sympathize. Was there one character who was the ultimate hero? I'll let you be the judge. I think I ping-ponged around too much to say yes to this question. I guess the essential question is, how many lives is one life worth? If I could pluck one thing in the story for which the movie is a point short of full, it would be due to the fact that I found Yoko Moriguchi staying off the law enforcement radar a little hard to believe. All in all it was an interesting watch (albeit not worth a re-watch). I would recommend this to anyone who's up for a little psychological gamble and can handle an hour and three quarters of a thrilling ride. One thing's for sure, I will be looking at middle-school kids in a whole new light after this movie.