The Third Murder (2017)
(Sandome no satsujin, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan 2017, 124 min., DCP, Japanese w/subtitles)
Rochester Premiere. Hirokazu Kore-eda is slowly becoming one of the most revered directors working in Japan, his films often in competition at Cannes. In this most recent effort, which won the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year, Misumi (Kôji Yakusho) is an ex-con who has been arrested for murdering his employer. Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama) is brought in to mount his defense in what seems to be an unwinnable case. Conducting an investigation, Shigemori finds that the situation is more complex and brings into question whether morality, justice, and truth can all exist in the same world together. In this taut courtroom drama, Kore-eda uses his perfectly placed camera to create intimate portraits of all involved.