From superstar auteur Takashi Miike comes this searing true crime thriller, an indictment of groupthink and the class and educational systems of contemporary Japan. Miike, iconic director of over 60 films — including Ichi the Killer, 13 Assassins, and Audition — brings tremendous formal rigor and aching empathy to this tale, based on a 2007 book by journalist Masumi Fukuda, of a young teacher accused of inciting terrible violence among his middle school students and the shocking repercussions that echoed through the country as a result.

Featuring incredible, nuanced performances by some of Japan’s top actors, including Kazuya Kamenashi (Lumberjack the Monster, Joker Game), Ken Mitsuishi (Audition, Shin Godzilla) and Ko Shibasaki (Battle Royale, 47 Ronin), Miike, with the skills of a master, leads us down a twisting narrative path of injustice, fear and fury. This really is white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat moviemaking; gripping, heartbreaking and startling, Sham is a powerful courtroom drama of the highest order.—Jonathan Penner