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]

Not to be confused with Third Murderer.

The Third Murder
Theatrical release poster
Japanese三度目の殺人
HepburnSandome no Satsujin
Directed byHirokazu Kore-eda
Produced byMatsuzaki Kaoru
Taguchi Hijiri
Screenplay byHirokazu Kore-eda
Starring
Music byLudovico Einaudi
CinematographyMikiya Takimoto
Edited byHirokazu Kore-eda
Production
company
Fuji Television Network
Amuse
GAGA Corporation
Distributed byToho
GAGA Corporation
Release date
  • 4 September 2017 (2017-09-04) (Venice)
  • 9 September 2017 (2017-09-09) (Japan)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
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

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
  1. "The Third Murder". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. "三度目の殺人". Eiga.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Chappell, Ali (21 September 2017). "Interview: Hirokazu Koreeda Talks The Third Murder". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  6. "The Third Murder (Sandome no satsujin) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. "The Third Murder Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  8. 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.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.