The quiet beauty of the picture can...be found in the slow unveiling of the truth.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 4, 2024

It is a slightly atypical work for Kore-eda, but in all honesty that just seems to make it more valuable.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 28, 2020

Hirokazu Kore-eda sidesteps the family dramas for a powerful courtroom drama starring Masaharu Fukuyama and Koji Yakusho...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 23, 2020

A film that commands attention and hooks you for large periods of time. [Full review in Spanish]

| Jul 5, 2020

"The Third Murder" is still a great film and a nice change of pace for the Japanese filmmaker, and at the same time, a much more approachable spectacle, which will definitely be more appealing to occidental audiences, even fans of the mainstream.

| Nov 30, 2019

An intelligent and solid work that joins, without a doubt, the best of 2017. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Aug 7, 2019

The Third Murder is shot mostly through panes of prison glass. In tackling the weighty subject of Japan's death penalty, the director imbues his meditative mystery with a distinctly icy chill.

| Jul 22, 2019

Koreeda's sadly neglected predecessor to Shoplifters is now thankfully available on DVD from Film Movement.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 21, 2019

This is a handsomely made, well-acted entry in the legal procedural genre, which, despite its references to Japanese criminal law, should be accessible to most viewers.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 25, 2019

Eschewing the snappy edit typical of the thriller genre in favour of a dialogue-driven narrative, The Third Murder is a legal procedural with a difference; deliberate pacing requires full attention, creating an engrossing experience.

| Feb 28, 2019

Big questions abound...and Koreeda provides no easy answers, making it clear that the solutions that work here are not universal. It keeps things intriguing, going some way to make up for the lacklustre central story.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 14, 2019

There's nothing wrong with experimenting new directions and Koreeda should be praised for his courage.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 29, 2019

The story is astute enough to hide the themes behind the substantial layers that compose The Third Murder. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 18, 2019

The film showcases Kore-eda's skillful sense of characterization and ethical inquiry, asking viewers to think long and hard about the meaning of justice.

| Jan 17, 2019

A murder mystery with more twists than a 1960s dancefloor. It's definitely gripping, and superbly acted, though I'll not deny it's also frustrating; as we try to work out who is being played.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 18, 2018

The film works best when Koreeda is able to impress his aesthetic on the story.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 31, 2018

The Third Murder reminds us that the death sentence cannot hope to offer the satisfaction that its brutal finality suggests.

| Original Score: B | Oct 17, 2018

"The Third Murder" features a handful of compelling performances, but winds up tied in knots.

| Original Score: C+ | Oct 12, 2018

A bold gamble for one of the most humanistic filmmakers working today that very much pays off. [Kore-eda] has created a morally complex, thematically enthralling film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 10, 2018

The Third Murder is a deep and intriguing moral puzzle encompassing many aspects, which will stay with you long after it's over.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 27, 2018