Shokei no shima

On the ferry to a small Japanese island, a local asks a mysterious stranger why he is returning. As the story unfolds, we learn about a brutal, isolated war time penal colony for boys the local reform school could not handle...and a mysterious incident that is going to be resolved.

Although this particular story is fiction, the Japanese have a long cultural tradition of "Shimanagashi" (banishment to a remote island) as a correctional method. As such, the story is quite believable in a Japanese context.

The atmosphere at the beginning of the movie was great! The build-up and development of the story is excellent. The photography (shot of Hachijojima south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean) of the isolated colony for "the worst of the boys" is beautiful. Some viewers may find the movie too brutal.