Reviews

This film has been introduced as a psycho-suspense thriller. Murder of a husband and a wife leads to the arrest of a young actor Shibata, who not only admits to the crime but also volunteers for the capital punishment. His defender sets out to have Article 39 (Japanese criminal law which protects mentally challenged individuals from unreasonable penalty) applied to her client. Psychiatric test supports the defender's point, however, a psychoanalyst Ogawa who assisted the test thinks otherwise, and sets out to prove that Shibata is faking mental disorder.

Ogawa's investigation leads to a number of complex events and incidents which shed light on the motivation of the murder. We find out that the accused Shibata had been faking his identity. The real accused turns out to be another male individual named Kudoh who had his younger sister brutally murdered by a man, who was released under the protection of the very Article 39. This murderer was no other than the husband who was killed at the beginning of the film.

Kudoh's girlfriend Mikako takes an ambiguous part throughout. Certainly she is an accomplice who aided in faking Kudoh's identity, but not only so, the climax of the film implies that she actually masterminded Kudoh's conduct during the murder and the following investigation.

The film questions a person's responsibility towards his/her own conduct. Is it truly lawful to excuse individuals from his/her responsibility on the basis of one's insanity? In the first place, is law capable of detecting the line between sanity and insanity?

Now, this film without question has a lot of twists and turns which keep viewers excited. At the end, the plot hints that Mikako was the accomplice within Kudoh, but Kudoh himself says otherwise. He names Ogawa as his unexpected accomplice. This, at the end, tells us that the real message in this film has little to do with the stab against the murdered husband, but has to do with the stab against Article 39. Ogawa effectively helped Kudoh stab the article. The most thrilling bit is when we notice at the end that Kudoh after all was sane all the time.

This film, IMHO, has at least two major flaws. First, the plot which says that the wife who was brutally chopped to death had been killed not by Shibata-Kudoh, but by her own husband - this in effect says Shibata-Kudoh's murdering of the man took place by chance, and was not premeditated. That does not accord with the fact that he actually brought his own jack knife with him. Second flaw has to do with Mikako's existence. Is she a loyal girlfriend who would go as far as to live and sleep with a complete stranger for years just so that Kudoh would accomplish his aim? Or is she actually the mastermind behind Kudoh's conduct? The latter does not sound right, as there is no motivation or factor on her side to do so. However, if Mikako was just a loyal girlfriend who effectively helped Kudoh throughout, what the hell was her part in the final court scene? After all, it was not her, but Ogawa who was named as Kudoh's accomplice. Probably she was the very one who taught Kudoh all about psychoanalyzing, but this is just my guess. These two factors prevent me from voting 10.

Complex nature of the plot may misguide viewers unless we carefully follow the story throughout. The awkwardness of the characters in the film is not helpful either. Sub-plots such as the history behind Ogawa's family do not allow us to focus on the mainstream too. However, at the end this is an excellent film which keeps the viewers' mind busy. Keep yourselves focused, and you shall enjoy.

Saw this on TV last night. Oh deary me, what can I say? First Class Entertainment!! Arnie certainly knows how to make people laugh. As long as we can have a big laugh at this kind of movies, the world is still peaceful. Right wing politicians (are you reading, George W & Colin P.?) should have a break and watch this film, I tell you (same goes to you, Tony - who increasingly sounds like a Tory MP these days...."Remember, member, member what a Labor Labor Labor you are...").

This film was hilarious especially in earlier stage, until (SPOILER) Helen finds out the true identity of Harry. Then the plot becomes rather follow-the-drill sort of story line: i.e. the good guys get caught, then get a chance to fight back, then the baddies have plan-B, and the good guys have to overcome that as well, but finally with outstanding courage, skill, and moral quality (love, trust, etc) the good guys save the world.

Having said all that, the visual aspect of this film makes it all worth paying for it. The last 10 to 15 minutes is very entertaining to watch. And yes, in order for you to fully enjoy the final 15 minutes, you need to watch all of it.