Liar Game: The Final Stage by Hiroaki Matsuyama was released in March 2010 based on an anime written by Kaitani Shinobu. This movie continues from where it left off in the Liar Game drama series which focuses on a ruthless swindle game, the Liar Game, in which contestants are chosen for a chance to win the grand prize of fifty million dollars. The players are to cooperate with each other in order for them all to win the cash. However if a player loses, he or she will be drowned in debt. The only way for them to win is to trust each other and cooperate until the end to win the grand prize without deceiving others. Liar Game: The Final Stage is a film with great intensity and keeps the audience thinking as to how the contestants can overcome the multiple obstacles that keeps getting in their way.
The film starts off by showing the naïve and gullible image of the main character, Kanzaki Nao. When a stranger approaches her for bus fare money, she simply gave him a smile and handed him ten dollars. When she gets home, a million dollars is placed in front of her house, causing her to have flashbacks of her past experience in the Liar Game. She never thought that she would be invited back to the last and final stage of the game. A man shows up and explains to her that she must enter the game again in order to help Akiyama Shinichi, another main character who helped her out in the game during the drama series. This man suggests she pay Akiyama back by aiding him in this final round. Kanzaki agrees to the deal and enters the Garden of Eden, where the game is held. She receives a brander and is enlisted as player H (to keep the player’s identity anonymous). The host of the game, Kelbim, once again explains the rules of the game to the contestants. Fifty million dollar is the prize. On the other hand, if the player loses, he or she will be put into debt.
The game is played based on individual votes cast on an apple: Gold, Silver and Red. Only one person is allowed to vote at a time, and they are to imprint their name on the apple with their personalized brander, and then dropping the apple into the voting box. There are thirteen rounds of voting with an hour time limit for each round. If everyone votes for the red apple, they each get one million dollars. If the votes are scattered, the coloured apple with the most votes will get a million dollars. On the other hand, the losers for that round will lose a million dollars instead. But if there are votes for Gold or Silver and the rest of the people votes for Red, the people who voted Gold or Silver will get a million dollar raise, whereas the rest will lose a million. After the rules are explain, the gullible and determined Kanzaki persuades them that they will all win as long as they cast the vote for red apples for all thirteen rounds. However, will other contestants agree with her and not deceive her by voting for Gold or Silver? For the first round, everyone says they will vote for the red apple, but the result turns out to be 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 4 Red, causing the 7 people who anonymously voted for Gold or Silver to gain a million, and the 4 who voted for Red lose a million each. Will Kanzaki be able to help Akiyama and let everyone be a winner, or will she be eliminated before she is able to aid Akiyama? On top of all the lies the contestants show, a player X within the group of the twelve plots to sabotage the players in the game. Will the genius Akiyama be able to beat this player X? Will Kanzaki be able to help the players learn to trust each other? Aside from the consistent conflicts between the contestants, the audience can also notice a subtle romance blooming between the two main characters during the game.
The camerawork of this film is an essential factor that adds to the intensity of the game. Though the characters often hide their true feelings at first, when the camera zooms into their expression, the audience can expect or even guess that something wrong or bad is going to happen and that the character is hiding something from the rest of the players. The camera angles also mainly focus on the character’s eyes, which are often open wide in fear of having been found out to be lying to the others. A lot of faraway shots can be seen in this film as well. These angles are often at a surveillance camera angle, letting the audience watch the game from an angle that is not involved in the game, yet still acknowledging the interactions between the contestants. Many of these shots also show the beautiful decorations of the Garden of Eden, a huge area dedicated for the players to stay in. The twelve players in the Liar Game also have a distinct dress code which reflects their personality. For example, Kanzaki wears a loose and long dress which shows her innocent self. Akiyama wears a casual yet eye-catching outfit which shows that he is a genius and is a talented person. Other outfits include a crazy clown outfit for a player who is childish and talkative, and a gold colour outfit is provided for the player with the most money at the beginning of the game.
Liar Game: The Final Stage keeps the audience guessing what will happen next and whether or not the players will each get a share of the grand prize. The mysterious player X, who is trying to sabotage the rest of the players, is also a factor that keeps the contestants from trusting each other. This film illustrates the need for people to trust each other and that money is not the main reason in order to live. Often, simply trusting another person instead can open one’s mind, finding the true feelings of one. When necessary, telling a white lie might be a better outcome for a certain situation. Also, the faint romance that develops between Kanzaki and Akiyama also makes the movie more enjoyable. This film portrays many different morals in life and definitely worth the time to watch.