The Third Murder

I knew what I was getting into once I heard the generic emotional movie soundtrack playing over drawn out shots of scenery. The repetitious direction got on my nerves. A scene of dialogue with no music followed by long shots with the generic soundtrack is the pattern that wears thin quickly. The shots may look nice with music accompaniment trying to accentuate an emotion that is not felt by the audience due to the dull characters.Every writer uses the characters and scenario as a tool for their message. However, even if you do not comprehend the message at first, characters and plot should be engaging in their own right helping lead you through the story. That is not the case here, the main character does little memorable. The ideas these characters propose are the most interesting part of the movie, but, without engagement in the characters themselves, the line between a living character's and writer's ideas disambiguate, leaving the veil open to see the characters not as living people but little more than just the writer's tools.I will say again that the ideas presented are interesting, but to sit through two hours of the tedium that is the repetitious directing and the boring characters just for these crumbs of insight is not worth it.

How can a slow, plodding, dialoguer driven movie be so good?? In my eyes, this is masterful, beautiful film making. I was captivated and enamored the entire time due to the amazing performances of the entire main cast, the expertly crafted cinematography, and the general mood and setting that was so well anchored the entire movie. Exquisite film making.

It's a slow-burn that sucks you in, as we spiral closer and close to the elusive truth of what happened and why. At every moment, I felt the precision of the script, the directing, cinematography and acting. Find yourself a quiet evening, turn off all distractions, and fall into this film.

Painfully beautiful.The soundtrack steals the show, if it's even possible from actors like these.Not one frame is out of order.Perfection on screen.

There’s some mystery to it but it unfolds slowly and there’s an element of surprise to it toward the end. Some plot points are lost along the way but the solid acting makes up for it. I liked how there was such a difference in punishment based on the crime… like robbery/murder vs. murder/theft.

No version of that could have possibly been the "truth" was in any way new or morally ambiguous. 2+ hours of much ado about nothing. I am sorry to be harsh, but this movie is made by someone who tried really hard to sound smarter than they are.

Other than being a well made and performed Japanese production you've seen this story before in various guises, particularly if you were a fan of Law & Order. Nevertheless, I liked it but not because of any unique Japanese perspective it presented for this often told story but rather because I like these sorts stories, regardless of where they originate from.

What a great change from most of the crap out there...I'm going to start viewing Japanese and Korean films!

This movies got under my skin and I felt the need to watch it again immediately after finnishing it. This is a court-room drama like you've never seen before, with Kore-eda's poetry in motion. The score, acting an cinematography is amazing. This movie was haunting me for a long time after watching it.There are two Extras that are really worth watching: Tony Rayns' 38 minute talk about the Japanese justice system (and how it is presented in Japanese movies), and an informative Making-of. It also comes with a nice booklet with a Tony Rayns essay.This movie loses one star because I'm convinced essential information is lost in translation - I mean the English subtitling, making the movie even more, and unintendedly, confusing. Example: at one point they talk about "the last murder". It then becomes clear they were referring to the murder that occured 30 years earlier. This is a minor issue, though. A much bigger deal is what is meant by referring to murderer as a 'vessel'. A 'vessel'? Come on... It 's frustrating, because I'm sure the Japanese phrase must have much more meaning/connotations than that, but as a non-Japanese speaking viewer, I'm a bit lost here...One more issue: in the making-of, it becomes clear that Kore-eda was struggling with the script. He even re-wrote it during the filming. I'm not sure, of course, but could that be the reason why we never learn about what happened to the murderer's wife (like his parents, "she died a horrible death"). Is that a hole in the script, or a deliberate loose end?

I LIKE ASIAN MOVIES,AND I HAVE BOUGT OF THEMIT IS NEVER A DOLL MOMENT,ACTION,SUSPENCE,AND GOD ACTORS ,DOING IT WELL.

Overly puzzling,long and boring.Worth watching once but not owning.

product met my expectations

Tony Rayns' commentary was thought provoking because it not only contextualized the film in Koreeda's oeuvre but in contemporary Japanese cinema. There is also a "Making Of" film.