Yajû shisubeshi Movie
Release Date
Director: Tôru Murakawa
Actors: Yûsaku Matsuda, Mako Midori, Akemi Mari
PlotA hardened freelance photographer prowls a neon-tinged city, hunting images that pay his rent and quiet his past. A routine assignment drags him into a missing-person case when a young woman's disappearance connects to a string of petty crimes and a shadowy chemical plant on the river. He teams reluctantly with a determined nightclub hostess who has her own reasons for finding the girl; their uneasy alliance exposes a network of corrupt officials, black-market dealers, and frightened witnesses. Tension builds as surveillance photos, anonymous tips, and a bruising late-night confrontation reveal that the missing woman may have stumbled onto something dangerous, and that the photographer’s own history gives him unique leverage — and vulnerability — in pursuing the truth.
As they chase leads through back alleys, dingy bars, and the plant’s guarded perimeter, clandestine meetings and a burned-out apartment hint at a larger conspiracy tied to industrial secrecy and civic indifference. The pair's investigative methods escalate from quiet questioning to bold trespass, forcing them to weigh personal risk against the urgency of rescue. Loyalties are tested, old wounds surface, and the city’s indifferent glow becomes a crucible for moral choices. The story stops at the point where their discoveries make clear that the stakes are higher than a single disappearance, and any next move will irrevocably cross into dangerous territory.
Writers: Haruhiko Ôyabu, Shoichi Maruyama
Runtime: 119 min
Rating: N/A
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Physical Media Reviews
Riveting, brutal noir, with a crisp 4K-sourced transfer, strong audio, and improved subtitles; extras satisfy, despite a jarring tonal shift.