The psychiatric evaluation of a young actor arrested for a brutal double murder concludes he may be unfit for trial. Further investigation, however, reveals the crime was a well-planned statement against the section of Japan's criminal code granting diminished responsibility to the mentally impaired.
Kyoka Suzuki Shinichi Tsutsumi Ittoku Kishibe Hideko Yoshida Mirai Yamamoto Masanobu Katsumura Takashi Sasano Takatoshi Takeda Masato Irie Misayo Haruki Daikichi Sugawara Jun Kunimura Kirin Kiki Tohru Emori Naoki Sugiura Yasuhito Ohchi Isamu Minami Mika Asai Ayako Yoshitani Kazuyo Kawamura Tomonori Yoshida Toshie Kobayashi Koji Sato Hiroshi Isobe Kumiko Tsuchiya Tadao Tamura Hirokazu Inoue Chosuke Ikariya Rakkii Ikeda
39 keihô dai sanjûkyû jô, Article 39, 39 형법제39조, 刑法第三十九条
Japan
Japan
Morita at his most stripped back; his penchant for magic realism and domestic surrealism contained within a somewhat similar yet more potent aberrance—an accused murderer who creates an illusion.
Driven by his exploratory energy, Morita refuses to be confined by the walls and tables of the courtroom genre; he displays his skills through incredible editing, transitions, and camerawork. A train of thought runs through a psyche while an actual train intercuts with the scene. Waves move like seagulls in the sky, contrasting the buried boy and stuck investigator with free wildness. A tracking shot from the other side of the street fades behind a wall and emerges out of a different room. And sudden, rapid musical cues dissociate the present…
Morita’s closeups are shocking, symbolic, and often beautiful. They carry so much weight here for many reasons, primarily though because they’re uncharacteristic of his work which before and after Keiho was comprised mainly of dutifully composed wide and medium shots.
The close up is essential to this story, though: showing the crime scene very early on, only to pull back at the end to reveal what actually happened; forebodingly framing a child walking with her killer, only his legs visible versus her whole body; focusing on different features of the same character’s split personality, delving into his mind via his eyes.
Definitely his most engaging work of the whole retrospective, and satisfies the craving that The Black House left me with for a true horror film from Morita.
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Morita strikes again, this time with an immensely gripping courtroom drama that's very psychological, but too leisurely paced to be called a 'thriller'. Like in his other major 1999 movie, "The Black House", this one takes place in a dismal urban environment and deals with several mysterious deaths that aren't what they seem to be. The cast is fascinating. Kyoka Suzuki initially still seems as timid as I remember her from Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald, but her character is a lot smarter than she lets on initially, and comes off as amazingly calm and collected instead of timid. Ittoku Kishibe once again demonstrates his amazing acting ability by playing a slimy detective with a hate/hate-a-little-less relationship with Kafka (Kyoka Suzuki's…
I love so many movies about the law, but this one’s just too slow for me.
Excellent film si on veut prolonger l'expérience de Cure
apparently this has a lukewarm reception here on lb..
i would like to say that this is every courtroom drama junkie’s wet dream. yoshimitsu morita never fails me
An opponent... completely unexpected.
Kyōka Suzuki is fantastic, what could have been a slow descent into madness for her character turns into a self discovery journey of sorts. I am a bit on the fence about the film's points on the subject matter it portrays but it didn't try to shove its opinions down my throat so that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the movie, in the end the viewer can decide on what he or she believes. A really well done slow burn crime drama overall. During the first part, it looks like it may turn into something more than that but even when it settles into the genre conventions, it still does a pretty good job of keeping the audience engaged.
An unusually weaker stab by Morita in this mystery within a mystery, as his uneven and unnecessarily convoluted film about a murderer with a split personality explores the intersection between law and psychology.
Review - wp.me/pat7iE-7nT
oh god the colour theory...its peak...its peak....
dédicace à la vielle dame qui a ronflée derrière moi pendant toute la séance
If you like murder mystery courtroom dramas this is a movie you should fucking check.
Superb performances, crazy good (focus on crazy here) cinematography and direction that locks you into an unease feeling while at the same time keeping you engaged into the glacial slow paced and intricated story.
This is a rather complicated psychological thriller with multiple twists in the story. This film is never boring even though some people might find a bit too intricate with all the flashbacks. Courtroom Drama entusiast gonna enjoy this one.
