The Third Murder (2017) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A defense attorney pursues shifting accounts of a murder and confronts the limits of certainty, truth, and judgment.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Case Built on Confession

Shigemori takes over Misumi's murder case and encounters a defendant whose accounts have repeatedly changed. Early investigation examines the crime scene, the wallet, and the victim's family.

Key Events

• Killing by the Tama River — A man bludgeons another to death and sets the body on fire. Characters: Takashi Misumi Location: Tama River
• Shigemori Takes the Case — Shigemori and Kawashima meet Misumi, who is charged with robbery and murder. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Yokohama Detention Center
• A Previous Case Resurfaces — Shigemori learns his father once judged Misumi's earlier murder case. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Akihisa Shigemori, Takashi Misumi Location: Yokohama
• Misumi Changes His Account — Misumi describes the killing, while his previous attorney's account conflicts with his version. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Yokohama Detention Center
• The Burned Crime Scene — Shigemori notices a cross and a limping teenage girl near the crime scene. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Sakie Yamanaka Location: Crime scene

Money and Competing Motives

Kawashima uncovers Misumi's wage dispute with the factory owner. A bank transfer and a magazine article lead the defense to consider whether the victim's wife hired Misumi.

Key Events

• Wallet Evidence — The investigation suggests Misumi took the victim's wallet after the killing. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Defense investigation
• The Family Rejects Forgiveness — Shigemori delivers Misumi's letter to the victim's family; Sakie's mother refuses to forgive him. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Sakie Yamanaka Location: Victim's home
• Wage Dispute Discovered — Kawashima learns Misumi argued with the factory owner over wages. Characters: Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Food factory
• An Insurance Murder Theory — The defense considers whether the victim's wife hired Misumi for an insurance-related murder. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Yokohama Detention Center
• The Payment Connection — A 500,000-yen transfer shortly before the murder supports the defense's new theory. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Defense investigation
• Misumi Accepts the Theory — Misumi agrees that the victim's wife contacted him and promised to help if he kept her out of it. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Yokohama Detention Center

Searching Misumi's Past

Shigemori resists his father's advice and travels to Rumoi to investigate Misumi's past. Back in Yokohama, Sakie's disclosures introduce a disturbing possible motive and undermine the defense's assumptions.

Key Events

• Misumi Accepts the Theory — Misumi agrees that the victim's wife contacted him and promised to help if he kept her out of it. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Yokohama Detention Center
• Shigemori Questions the Motive — Akihisa tells Tomoaki not to waste time trying to understand Misumi, but Tomoaki remains unconvinced. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Akihisa Shigemori Location: Yokohama
• A Journey to Rumoi — Shigemori and Kawashima investigate Misumi's past and his estranged daughter. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Teru Kawashima, Takashi Misumi Location: Rumoi
• Sakie's Family Secret — Sakie tells Shigemori that her father sexually assaulted her and that she had suggested she wanted him dead. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Sakie Yamanaka Location: Yokohama

The Defense Unravels

The victim's wife disputes the defense's interpretation of the payment. Misumi then withdraws his confession and offers another account, leaving Shigemori to decide whether to accept it.

Key Events

• The First Trial Begins — The defense proceeds with its strategy as the first trial begins. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Takashi Misumi Location: Courtroom
• The Payment Testimony Falters — The victim's wife says the 500,000 yen was business-related, weakening the defense theory. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Sakie Yamanaka Location: Courtroom
• Misumi Withdraws His Confession — Misumi says he did not commit the murder and that he was persuaded to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Takashi Misumi Location: Detention center
• Shigemori Accepts the New Account — Misumi offers another explanation for the money and his burned hand, and Shigemori agrees to follow the new account. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Takashi Misumi Location: Detention center

Judgment Without Certainty

Sakie testifies that she does not believe Misumi killed for money, yet the court sentences him to death. In their final exchanges, Misumi and Shigemori question whether either can know the truth behind the changing accounts.

Key Events

• Sakie Testifies — Sakie says she does not believe Misumi killed her father for money and does not wish the death penalty on him. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Sakie Yamanaka, Takashi Misumi Location: Courtroom
• Death Sentence — The court rules for the prosecution and sentences Misumi to death. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Takashi Misumi Location: Courtroom
• No One Tells the Truth — Sakie tells Shigemori that nobody there tells the truth and questions who should judge others. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Sakie Yamanaka Location: Outside the courtroom
• The Final Detention Visit — Misumi questions whether Shigemori's interpretation is merely what he wants to believe; Shigemori leaves and looks at the sky. Characters: Tomoaki Shigemori, Takashi Misumi Location: Detention center

Story Breakdown

• The Murder Case — A killing brings Misumi into custody and places his changing confession at the center of the defense.
  • River Killing — A man is bludgeoned and set on fire near the Tama River.
  • Changing Confession — Misumi's accounts of the killing conflict with earlier statements.
• Defense Investigation — Shigemori and Kawashima investigate evidence and possible motives to shape the defense.
  • Wallet Evidence — Surveillance footage and the wallet suggest it was taken after the murder.
  • Wage Dispute — Kawashima learns Misumi argued with the factory owner over wages.
• The Payment Theory — A transfer of 500,000 yen leads the defense to consider whether the victim's wife paid Misumi.
  • Insurance Hypothesis — The attorneys connect a magazine article and the payment to a possible hired killing.
  • Misumi's Agreement — Misumi says the victim's wife contacted him and offered help if he kept her uninvolved.
• Searching the Past — Shigemori investigates Misumi's history and resists his father's instruction to stop trying to understand him.
  • Akihisa's Warning — Akihisa advises Tomoaki not to waste time trying to understand Misumi.
  • Rumoi Journey — Shigemori and Kawashima seek information about Misumi's earlier case and family connections.
• Sakie's Disclosure — Sakie's account of abuse and her earlier words to Misumi complicate the assumed motive.
  • A Hidden Abuse — Sakie tells Shigemori that her father sexually assaulted her for years.
  • Possible Protection — Shigemori wonders whether Misumi denied the crime to protect Sakie from disclosing the abuse.
• A Reversed Plea — Misumi abandons his confession, and Shigemori chooses to proceed with the new account.
  • Confession Withdrawn — Misumi claims he did not commit the murder and says he was persuaded to plead guilty.
  • Shigemori's Choice — Shigemori reluctantly agrees to follow Misumi's revised statements.
• Trial and Sentence — Sakie's testimony challenges the money motive, but the court ultimately rules for the prosecution.
  • Sakie Testifies — Sakie says she does not believe Misumi killed her father for money and does not want the death penalty.
  • Death Sentence — The court sentences Misumi to death after the prosecution's case prevails.
• Unresolved Truth — The final conversations leave Misumi's motives and Shigemori's interpretation uncertain.
  • Who Judges — Sakie questions who has the right to judge others when nobody tells the truth.
  • Final Question — Misumi asks whether Shigemori's interpretation reflects truth or merely what he wants to believe.

Directed by

Hirokazu Kore-eda

Key Cast

• Masaharu Fukuyama — Tomoaki Shigemori
• Koji Yakusho — Takashi Misumi
• Suzu Hirose — Sakie Yamanaka
• Shinnosuke Mitsushima — Teru Kawashima
• Mikako Ichikawa — Itsuki Shinohara