This will be an awkward case for hotshot attorney Tomoaki Shigemori. It will remind him that guilt and culpability are not necessarily the same thing. The case against Takashi Misumi also illustrates the systemic advantages enjoyed by Japanese prosecutors. Yet, most vividly, the pitched court battle demonstrates how elusive the truth can be, as a tangible, knowable thing. Shigemori will try his best to uncover the truth while obeying his clients’ instructions—ironically, two objectives that never really concerned him much before—in Hirokazu Koreeda’s “The Third Murder,” which screened during the 2018 New York Asian Film Festival and will be released on DVD on Nov. 13.
Hirokazu Koreeda (2nd R) directing a scene with Masaharu Fukuyama (R) and Koji Yakusho in “The Third Murder.” (Fuji Television Network/Amuse Inc. / Gaga Corporation)