The Third Murder

The defence lawyer Tomoaki Shigemori takes the case of Misumi, accused of killing a factory owner. Misumi confesses, then changes his statement, then changes it again. Insurance money, the dead man's abuse of his daughter and the possibility of another murder each surface in turn. The film ends without telling you which version is true. Hirokazu Kore-eda directed. Known for family drama, here he made a courtroom film outright. Masaharu Fukuyama plays Shigemori, Koji Yakusho plays Misumi and Suzu Hirose plays the victim's daughter. Kore-eda worked with seven lawyers while developing the script and staged mock trials to get the procedure and the language right. It is also the first film in which he used Cinemascope. At the 41st Japan Academy Prize it took the major awards including Picture of the Year, Director of the Year and Screenplay of the Year. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 87 percent, with one review finding in it the same clarity of thought and precision of image as his very best work. Who it is for: viewers who like courtroom films that resolve nothing and ask whether the truth can be known at all. Who it is not for: anyone who needs to be told at the end who did it. The film withholds that on purpose, and it is not a flaw but the point.