"The Third Murder" is a quietly intense legal drama by the brilliant Hirokazu Kore-eda. Using his great skill and fitting subtlety, he's able to maneuveur his screenplay's story line to evoke the themes/ideas at work here. What are the first priorities of the legal system? Is it to ultimately serve the tenets of 'truth' and 'justice'? Is it to keep on the docket scheudle maintain one's reputation? Do empathy and compassion come into play for the lawyers? Or are they simply blank-faced figures working to win the case as it's handed to them? How much justice actually gets served with all the backroom machinations going on? It's a convoluted story. One with a defendant who changes his story more than once. Is he covering for s/one? For whom, and why? Was this a mercy killing, a grudge, or simply robbery ending in death? With appropriate pacing and deft use of images and dialogue that slowly unveils the painful and unfortunate truth(s), Kore-eda again shows why he's one of the finest writer/directors of his time. Strong performances by the leads and supporting players. Fukuyama, Hirose, and Yakusho are esp. good. Who decides who gets judged, indeed? 3.8 stars

Captured my attention throughout, but during the last hour I had a dreading feeling that there will be no clear answer. And what do you know. One can infer and make up their own mind but I didn't love it.

A bit ponderous, but there enough twists and turns to keep the story interesting.

真実をちゃんと確認しようとする人はいない、たとえ人が死んでいても。 司法は法ではなく人であるということ。 家族がいれば違っただろうし、お金がもっとあったら違う調査もできたかもしれない。 司法制度、環境がおかしいから、おかしな日本の社会を正そうとする人もその中で死んでいく。

I've seen this three times. As a reader, I appreciate a film you can read, especially in this particular genre.

This is definitely a good whodunit! Nothing to do with "Knives Out" that is a poor parody of the genre. Intriguing plot, not predictable. Excellent performance of everybody, first of all the Director. Sober and elegant movie!

Hirokazu Koreeda is a filmmaker at the top of his profession, but despite making another film that's well acted and easy on he eyes, the great Koreeda can't connect the story from start to finish. In concept it's a good idea, but over time the film just doesn't go to the places you expect from the veteran writer and director. There's something missing. Koreeda tries to use tension and mystery to tell the story, however it never comes together. Final Score: 6.3/10

MURDER MYSTERY, VERY INTERESTING

The Third Murder opens with one man brutally clubbing another to death and burning his body. But did events occur as depicted, and if so, what was the killer's motive? Despite the violent opening, The Third Murder is a slow burn drama with a focus on well-crafted and well-delivered dialogue. This dialogue concerns the accused murderer, Misumi, and his lawyer's attempts to understand his motivations so he can mount a coherent defense. Misumi is wonderfully inscrutable, and the interactions between him and Shigemori form a sort of rumination on the futility of attempting to understand evil, truth in the Japanese legal system, and the existence of fate. This is all shot with some of the best cinematography I've ever seen. The end product is a beautiful and rewarding film, but one which, on account of the slow pace, it not necessarily fun to watch.

I'm a big fan of Koreeda's work, shoplifters, like father like son and still walking being my favourites that I have seen so far, he has a sort of omnipotent knowledge and ability to translate the human conditions and tragedies along with happiness we all experience. This is why I don't think the third murder works so well. While Shigemori is a man with demons, which Koreeda navigates beautifully as usual, the punch of this characters faults aren't as heightened and effective as they could be with the courtroom and lawyer setting. Koreeda is at his best when he focuses on family and while this does it doesn't feel as intimate, moving or powerful. I can't really fault the writing or directing, it just lacked a bit of an emotional punch i'm so used to in Koreeda films.

And so it finally happened: I found a Hirokazu Koreeda film that I did not like! This change in the genre, did not bring me the same joy that the other films did. The direction is still good obviously, but the writing is mediocre. It's like if adding murder, Koreeda subtracts in depths and entertaining.

Very nice apocalyptic movie. I have watched this movie few times in my audio language german using boxxy software.

Superbly done, good story with twists and surprises.

Compelling cinematography helped the film deliver on its main theme, that one man’s protagonist is another’s antagonist and as such justice is not blind. A little difficult to decipher in the act of watching the film, but it certainly spurs this conversation post-viewing. To me, that’s the hallmark of Koreeda’s films.

Complexity, well written and great photography.

The terrific cast and visual storytelling are subtle - the themes less so, but still thoughtful, and the plot twists itself into ambiguity.

The last one-third is a little bit draggingly slow but the film as a whole is a fresh take on such a traditional genre like legal thriller. Of course, as this film is directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, ones who are already familiar with his works must already be able to figure out that this would not be a conventional "whodunit" and indeed the basic mystery was already laid out bare right at the beginning of the film, whereas it would not be difficult to guess the major twist of this film after its first half due to the pretty limited cast and settings. But "solution" was never the focus of this film, as instead Kore-eda chose to primarily follow the psychological evolution of his characters through their emotions, their lies, and their moments of hesitancy. Similar to many Japanese films, the cast of this film is not entirely strong and thus the performance of some lesser ones (including the lead Masaharu Fukuyama) did slightly undermine the effect of Kore-eda's meticulous portray of modern Japanese minds, but the excellent Suzu Hirose and K?ji Yakusho were still able to make this film a memorable one with their pivotal roles. Some might say that this film lacks a little bit of finesse as Kore-eda rushed to deliver his message of exposing the serious prejudicial issues of the current Japanese legal system. Partially I agree with this sentiment, but it seems that Kore-eda never intended to deliver a "wholesome" experience, he just wanted to share his perspectives of the modern Japanese society with a lot of nuances (nothing totally good, nothing absolutely bad, it is all up to everyone's own judgement), many layers of emotional connections from one to another (despite the ever existence of social barriers like "traditions", "morals", "ethics", preconception - the "prisoner" in this film asks himself and his lawyer again and again about whether or not he should have been born), and many seemingly ordinary lives that still deserve care and attention from the society. In that aspect, Kore-eda has once again delivered an amazing experience for the audience.

A complex film that questions if the truth matters to judiciary. Full review: http://bit.ly/2D4tR2P

A cold and clinical courtroom drama about the murder of a factory president. This legal thriller doesn't look good on Koreeda's filmography. Bring back the old Koreeda!

Ambiguous and ambitious are the best words you can find to describe the new crime drama from Hirokazu Koreeda. A departute from the director's usual family themes, although not forgetting them completely as they are integral to the story, Koreeda's newest work is his most distinct one in subject but consistent with the rest of his filmography's themes and style. Long shots exposing the characters environments, it's a slow paced and meditative entry to the genre, focused on the big ideas and the process rather than the murder and trial plot. The director asks big questions and is at his best filming his actors, the close ups were never this deliberate and meaningful in Koreeda's work. In the end the movie triumphs through it's performances, masterful from Masaharu Fukuyama and Koji Yakusho, direction and openness, never giving us full ensight into Misumi's motives, chosing instead Shigemori to expose it's ideas and letting them roam organically. 9/10