容疑者Ｘの献身- Suspect X (Hiroshi Nishitani,2008):Japan

Reviewed by Aleksandra Mraovic. Viewed at The Santa Barbara Film Festival.

I went to see Suspect X at the Santa Barbara Film Festival because I heard that it was supposed to be good. At first I hesitated because I saw another Japanese movie called 20^th Century Boys which I didn´t like at all. But I gave it a chance and I wasn´t disappointed. To my surprise was the movie really good. The plot was really well planned and you always wondered what was going to happen next.

The movie is about a murder and the way the murder details were hidden so that the police couldn´t find out who the killer was. A woman and her daughter killed the ex-husband after abusing her daughter. Their neighbor who is a math genius helps them to cover up the murder so that the police wouldn´t find the murderer. The police, who are clueless, take help from a professor that helps them solve crimes. He knows the neighbor because they went in the same class when they were young. He tries to figure out how the murder went down and who is the guilty one. The mother and the daughter have a strong alibi so nothing comes to place.

The movie was very interesting and you can almost compare it with The Unusual Suspects. As in Suspect X you are always aware of the details and trying to figure out who the murderer is and how they are trying to cover up their tracks. The difference is that in Suspect X you already know who the murderer is.

The movie was a little bit gloomy as many films at the festival. I still can´t get used to it but when it comes to Suspect X it´s more explainable. Movies about crimes and murders are more intense if they are a little bit grey and depressing.

This is definitely a good movie for those who enjoy watching movies where the director doesn´t reveal everything during the movie. Even at the end, you understand everything but you are amazed at how the director made you clueless. This is one of the best Japanese movies I have seen and I definitely recommend it to others.