Sandome no satsujin (2017)

A courtroom drama centered around the murder of a factory president.

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writer:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Stars:

Masaharu Fukuyama, Kôji Yakusho, Shinnosuke Mitsushima

6 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Masaharu Fukuyama	...	Shigemori
Kôji Yakusho	...	Misumi
Shinnosuke Mitsushima	...	Kawashima Akira
Mikako Ichikawa	...	Sasabara Itsuki
Izumi Matsuoka	...	Hattori Akiko
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Isao Hashizume	...	Shigemori Akihisa
Suzu Hirose	...	Sakie
Hajime Inoue	...	Ono Minoru
Aju Makita	...	Shigemori Yuka
Ichirô Ogura
Yuki Saitô	...	Yamanaka Mitsue
Kôtarô Yoshida	...	Settsu Daisuke

Storyline

Misumi has a criminal record dating back many years and is now under the spotlight again. It looks like an open and shut case, for Misumi has confessed to the new charge. Enter prominent lawyer Shigemori, who harbours other ideas, which could mean the difference between life and death.

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Plot Keywords:

school uniform | mini skirt | japanese schoolgirl | hit in the head | burning a dead body | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

GAGA [Japan] Official Facebook [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 July 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

El tercer asesinato

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,670, 22 July 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$87,389, 18 October 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amuse,Fuji IG Laboratory for Movies (FILM),Fuji Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first fiction film from Hirokazu Koreeda that was shot in anamorphic digital and framed in 2.35:1.

User Reviews

Crime and fatherhood

The murderer in this film has killed twice. So, why is the film called 'The Third Murder?' It's up to the viewer to answer the question. In my view, the third victim is the truth. As one of the protagonists remarks in a crucial scene: 'No one has spoken the truth'.

'The Third Murder' is a film asking a lot of questions, but answering few. To be clear: that's a good thing. What is truth? What is righteousness? Which of the two are more important for a lawyer? And for a judge? Is capital punishment always wrong? Or, in the words of the killer: should some people never have been born?

With this film, acclaimed film maker Hirukazo Kore-eda takes a different path from many of his previous films. He is known for his delicate and subtle dramas about the family life of ordinary people. This time, he has made a sort of courtroom drama (although only a small part is actually set in a courtroom) about a killer and his possible motives.

Still, the theme of family relations is not absent in this film. Far from it, in fact. Fatherhood is omnipresent. One of the most important characteristics of the killer is how he has failed as a father. The lawyer defending him discusses the case with his own father, a retired judge who has convicted the same killer decades earlier. And the dead victim turns out to have been the worst father imaginable. At least, in one version of the truth.

'The Third Murder' is a multi-layered, complex film which offers lots of surprises and twists. Kore-eda succeeds in keeping the viewer wondering what comes next. But at the same time, the result is less convincing than in some of Kore-eda's best family dramas, in which human nature is dissected by small acts and symbolic details. Not by important, philosophical questions.