The Third Murder (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 & 14 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
Tôru Shinagawa	...	Watanabe
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.

---

Plot Keywords:

cop | pig | bacon | female masculine short hair | almond eyes | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

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:

$89,315, 29 November 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

The film premiered at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in September 2017.

---

Quotes

Sakie: I don't want to pretend not to see, like my mother.

User Reviews

Back to form

With "The Third Murder" Hirokazu Koreeda sidepaths from the more lighthearted thematics his more recent movies like "our little sister" or "after the storm" had and reenters the realm of profound dramas in which he previously worked with in movies like "Like father like son" and one of his ealier works "after life". While the light hearted stuff is enjoyable and it is not as much of a risky "hit and miss" as a movie like "afterlife" might be, I think his more deep and serious movies are definitly more impacting and memorable, thats why I think "The third murder" is definitly one of Koreedas finest works.

In this crime thriller Koreeda explores heavily the ideas of truth, justice and especially motivation. Why do people say what they say? Can we really trust anyone? This movie was just so beautifully crafted with nearlly every scene you learn new things about character you thought you know already, just to find out how wrong you were, until you dont know what to believe anymore.

The cinematography was pretty unique to his other movies I would say. He added some emotionally driven music shots that fitted quite well with the tone of the movie and made some character interactions that were already tense and interesting even better by presenting interesting camera shots.

It was only fitting for Koreeda to give Masaharu Fukuyama the lead role given how well he did in "Like father like son" and he did a wonderful job again with this role. Also one of japans best actors "Koji Yakusho" did a perfect job, like most of the time and gave his role the exact nuance i was talking about previously, with being able to make yourself question your own judgement.

Overall I can only recommend this movie. Hirokazu Koreeda is one of Japans best living directos and "the third murder" is one of his best movies and I am already looking forward of rewatching this movie.