Rating	PG13 Some Coarse Language 些许粗俗语言
Language	Japanesewith English & Chinese subtitles
Genre	Mystery
Director	Harada Masato
Cast	Takuya Kimura, Kazunari Ninomiya, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Yutaka Matsushige, Takehiro Hira, Koji Okura, Yoshi Sakou
Synopsis	A murder occurs in metropolitan Tokyo―the perpetrator unknown. Assigned to the case are Mogami (Takuya Kimura), the ace prosecutor at the Public Prosecutors Office, and Okino (Kazunari Ninomiya), a newcomer in the Criminal Investigation Department. Mogami sets his sights on one man among many suspects and pursues him tenaciously. The man Matsukura (Yoshi Sakou) is also the prime suspect of another unsolved murder for which the statute of limitations has expired. Okino, who considers Mogami his mentor, tries hard in interviews to get a confession out of the suspect, but the man continues to deny involvement and maintains his innocence. Eventually, Okino begins to doubt Mogami’s direction, and wonders if he is setting up Matsukura to be the perpetrator. The two prosecutors end up in confrontation, each fronting their own brand of justice. What outcome awaits their showdown?

REVIEWS

By Say Peng 26 Sep 2018

Not just for fans of Kimura and Ninomiya, the film will attract those interested in a well executed legal drama that broaches questions that affects not just lawyers but all of us.

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Directed by veteran director Masato Harada and based on author Shusuke Shizukui’s best-selling novel, Killing for the Prosecution is a revenge legal thriller with a tantalizing hook of a premise: Is it moral to incriminate an evil person for a crime he did not commit?

Our main character, Mogami, a veteran prosecutor, played handsomely by pop-icon Takuya Kimura, seems to think it is okay to do so. Mogami works at the prosecutor’s office in Tokyo, where he specializes in violent crimes. A new case of an elderly couple being knifed to death in their apartment emerges. It’s seemingly just another violent crime until Mogami finds out that one of the main suspects is Matsukura, a balding, wiry-haired, borderline neurotic, who more than 20 years ago, raped and murdered an adolescent schoolgirl and got away with his crime. The victim was Mogami’s childhood friend, perhaps even his sweetheart. Filled with rage, Mogami now intends for Matsukura to suffer payback, intent on incriminating Matsukura for a murder he did not commit.

Recently hired to join Mogami’s legal team is Keiichiro Okino, Mogami’s ex-student and model pupil, an idealistic, by-the-book, boyish-looking fresh graduate, played competently by Arashi boy band-singer Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima). He is the Devil’s advocate, if you will, of the film’s premise, questioning Mogami’s hypocritical turn from self-styled righteous lawyer to vindictive avenger.

Performances all around are assured and competent, with special props for Ninomiya. The film is filled with interrogation scenes that will challenge and stretch even the best of actors. In one of the most highly climatic interrogation scenes, Ninomiya rises to the occasion and gives an astounding performance that is reminiscent of a young Leonardo diCaprio. In addition to the star-studded cast, Killing for the Prosecution boasts polished production values with its slick widescreen cinematography of legal proceedings in urban Tokyo.

Not just for fans of Kimura and Ninomiya, the film will attract those interested in a well executed legal drama that broaches questions that affects not just lawyers but all of us.
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Killing For The Prosecution