The Third Murder
The Third Murder (三度目の殺人, Sandome no Satsujin) is a 2017 Japanese legal thriller film edited, written, and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.[2] It was screened in the main competition section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival.[3]
The Third Murder | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Japanese | 三度目の殺人 |
Hepburn | Sandome no Satsujin |
Directed by | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
Produced by | Matsuzaki Kaoru Taguchi Hijiri |
Screenplay by | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
Starring | |
Music by | Ludovico Einaudi |
Cinematography | Mikiya Takimoto |
Edited by | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
Production company | Fuji Television Network Amuse GAGA Corporation |
Distributed by | Toho GAGA Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 124 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Box office | $12.38 million[1] |
Plot
Tomoaki Shigemori is a lawyer tasked with defending a client (Misumi), who faces the death penalty if found guilty, in a murder trial. Misumi has previous convictions for murder and has confessed to the crime, but evidence in the case leads to Shigemori having doubts about what really happened.[4]
Cast
- Masaharu Fukuyama as Tomoaki Shigemori
- Kōji Yakusho as Misumi Takashi
- Suzu Hirose as Sakie Yamanaka
- Yuki Saito as Sakie's mother
- Kōtarō Yoshida as Daisuke Settsu
- Shinnosuke Mitsushima as Kawashima
- Izumi Matsuoka as Akiko Hattori
- Mikako Ichikawa as Shinohara
- Isao Hashizume as Akihisa Shigemori
- Aju Makita as the daughter of Tomoaki
- Hajime Inoue as Ono
Production
Hirokazu Kore-eda was inspired to write a courtroom thriller after conversing with his friend, a lawyer, about the latter's experiences in court. Kore-eda learned that there's a gap between the Japanese people's perception of the court as a space where people aim for the truth, and what it actually is: a space for lawyers "to make adjustments to the conflict [of] interest." Kore-eda based the background of his script on the speculation of "what would happen if a lawyer really started wanting to know the truth?"[5]
During the development process, writing the script was the hardest part for Kore-eda to tackle, due to his unfamiliarity with how lawyers worked in the justice system. He brought together seven lawyers over several months to stage mock trials and mock interviews of a criminal, while he took notes on their language and thought processes.[5]
Besides the subject matter, another departure for Kore-eda was the film's use of the Cinemascope format, which he had not employed in his previous films.[5]
Reception
Critical reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Third Murder holds an approval rating of 86% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.05/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Third Murder makes satisfying work of its weighty themes, even if it doesn't quite stand with writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda's best efforts."[6] On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]
Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review of the film, stating that "though different in feeling from the Japanese writer-director's perceptive family tales like After the Storm, it has the same clarity of thought and precision of image as his very best work."[8]
Accolades
Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|
42nd Hochi Film Award | Best Supporting Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won |
30th Nikkan Sports Film Award | Best Film | The Third Murder | Nominated |
Best Actor | Masaharu Fukuyama | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Suzu Hirose | Nominated | |
72nd Mainichi Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Hirokazu Koreeda | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Suzu Hirose | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Mikiya Takimoto | Nominated | |
Best Art Direction | Yōhei Taneda | Nominated | |
Best Music | Ludovico Einaudi | Nominated | |
60th Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Film | The Third Murder | Nominated |
Best Director | Hirokazu Koreeda | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actress | Yuki Saito | Won | |
Suzu Hirose | Nominated | ||
12th Asian Film Awards | Best Film | The Third Murder | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actress | Suzu Hirose | Nominated | |
41st Japan Academy Prize | Picture of the Year | The Third Murder | Won |
Director of the Year | Hirokazu Koreeda | Won | |
Screenplay of the Year | Won | ||
Best Film Editing | Won | ||
Best Supporting Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Suzu Hirose | Won | |
Best Music | Ludovico Einaudi | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Mikiya Takimoto | Nominated | |
Best Lighting Direction | Norikiyo Fujii | Nominated | |
Best Sound Recording | Kazuhiko Tomita | Nominated | |
References
- "The Third Murder". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- "三度目の殺人". Eiga.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- Anderson, Ariston (27 July 2017). "Venice Competition Includes Films From George Clooney, Guillermo del Toro, Darren Aronofsky". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- Bradshaw, Peter (15 September 2017). "The Third Murder review – death-sentence drama leaves you hanging". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- Chappell, Ali (21 September 2017). "Interview: Hirokazu Koreeda Talks The Third Murder". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- "The Third Murder (Sandome no satsujin) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- "The Third Murder Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- Young, Deborah (4 September 2017). "'The Third Murder' ('Sandome no satsujin'): Film Review | Venice 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- The Third Murder on IMDb
- The Third Murder at AllMovie
- The Third Murder at Box Office Mojo
- The Third Murder at Metacritic
- The Third Murder at Rotten Tomatoes