The Devil's Path (2013)

Journalist Shuichi Fujii receives a letter from convicted killer Junji Sudo. Writing from death row, Sudo wants to confess to crimes unknown to the police. On visiting Sudo in prison, Fujii... See full summary »

Director:

Kazuya Shiraishi

Writers:

Kazuya Shiraishi (screenplay), Izumi Takahashi (screenplay)

Stars:

Takayuki Yamada, Pierre Taki, Lily Franky

11 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Takayuki Yamada
Pierre Taki	...	(as Piêru Taki)
Lily Franky	...	(as Lily Frankie)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chizuru Ikewaki
Kô Itô
Hajime Tsukumo

Storyline

Journalist Shuichi Fujii receives a letter from convicted killer Junji Sudo. Writing from death row, Sudo wants to confess to crimes unknown to the police. On visiting Sudo in prison, Fujii learns about a real estate broker called "Doc" who masterminded a string of murders that Sudo worked muscle for. Set up by Doc, Sudo seeks revenge and implores Fujii to find the evidence needed to bring in his former boss. Working off Sudo's sketchy memories, Fujii begins to piece together a grizzly tale of extortion, torture, rape, and arson. But as his desire to see Doc brought to justice nears the boiling point, he runs into resistance from his editor, who views the story as tripe, the police, who seem indifferent to the case, and his wife, who is at her wits' end dealing with his mother's increasing dementia. Based on true crime cases, "The Devil's Path" exposes the secret underbelly of crime in modern Japan.

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Taglines:

Lose your way - Lose your soul

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Genres:

Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

21 September 2013 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Path

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,364,339

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kazumo Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A Gripping Crime Story

The Devil's Path is a sadly overlooked Japanese crime story. It blends several film-making techniques to present a story of crime and (to use an over-used term) redemption.

Apparently loosely based on a true story, filmed at times in as a noir crime story, other times not, it presents the details of a series of grisly Yakuza murders and a newspaper reporter desperately attempting to get the story out and bring the real ring-leader to justice. It lays out the competing and sometimes opposing and antagonistic forces the reporter faces while getting the story out - the reporter versus his spouse, the spouse versus her mother-in-law, the reporter versus the newspaper editor, the inner gang rivalries, and finally the reporter and the perpetrator of the crime. These competing relationships are presented in both a narrative and nonlinear fashion to produce a movie you really have to pay attention to and watch a few times to be hit with its full effect.

At times it works as a psychological thriller, other times as a garden variety Yakuza movie. It features a character who is truly one of the most chilling psychopaths captured on film, someone who can give Hannibal Lector a run for his money.

Well worth watching and not to be missed.