WILLIAM FLANIGAN Viewed at CineMatsuri 2015. Director Yoshihiro Nakamura utilizes a murder mystery plot device as a vehicle to explore troubling facets of modern Japanese society. This is a clever , original, but also somewhat derivative photo play. The Director simultaneously exploits an on-screen mash up of multiple contemporary communication media to tell his tale. Pictorial presentation of the flow of instant messaging is especially well done. Nakamura also shows a subculture seldom (if ever) seen by those living on the outside. It is the working environment of female office clerks and low-level salary women. And the explosive impact that seemingly trivial matters can have by engendering mental illness and murder. The shallow nature and undue influence of 7/24 social media on those who follow and engage in these communication channels is repeatedly underlined. There is an abundance of red herring and misinformation as well as subtitle cues as to the identity of the murder. Nakamura uses the common murder mystery mechanism (especially on TV) of repeating the same scene over and over again, each time from a different character's point of view to slowly remove question marks on viewers' collective foreheads and unmask the culprit. The film is much too long and padded with mostly irrelevant childhood experiences apparently to add depth to character development (and to further engage the viewer using cute child actors?). The closing scenes are clearly contrived (one gets the feeling that multiple endings may have been shot and someone other than the Director picked this one). Cinematography (1.78 aspect ratio, color) and lighting are excellent. Set decoration seems a bit inconsistent. Music fits in well with other film components. Subtitles are fine. However, only above-the-line names are translated in the credits. Highly recommended. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

dsntxst When cosmetic company employee Risako Kano contacts friend and TV news cameraman/reporter Yuji Akahoshi about the murder of her attractive co-worker Miki Noriko, he begins to investigate the case himself, documenting his progress both on camera and via his Twitter account. His investigation soon points towards another co-worker - the timid Miki Shirono, who has been missing since the night of the murder. As the story explodes via mass media and online, a trial-by-media ensues and those close to both Noriko and Shirono begin painting their own perspectives on who these women were/are - but is anybody telling the complete truth?'The Snow White Murder Case' is an interesting mish-mash of murder-mystery and commentary on the obsession with social and mass media. It takes enough from each side of the fence to tell an intriguing and entertaining story, and leave you thinking about the implications of speculation and rumour in a media-obsessed world. Strangely, the film also tails off into a story about the meaning of friendship - which I guess does tie in with the idea of not being swayed by rumour and innuendo.With numerous characters providing their perspective on the victim/suspect, a bunch of flashbacks (including repeating flashbacks) and a slew of Twitter comments invading the screen, 'The Snow White Murder Case' could have become a bit off a mess both technically and narratively. I admit on my initial screening to having stopped watching after 30 minutes as I was losing interest but I gave it another go and I am glad I did. As the story begins heading along different strands, director Yoshihiro Nakamura does an excellent job of progressing the story without confusing the audience. Several scenes are repeated with subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) changes depending on the character recalling the situation, keeping the audience in-step with the story whilst also providing small hints on where it may be going to keep you hooked. These scenes (and the entire film really) are backed up by solid performances by the cast - a couple of characters do complete 180 degree turns by film's end but it remains believable throughout. I also enjoyed the jazzy, anime-esque soundtrack - off-beat but appropriate.I was initially a bit underwhelmed with the conclusion of the film (it is kind of just handed to you) but I admit to having an ironic smile at Akahoshi's final scene. On second viewing, I think I appreciated it more: the murder-mystery has enough of a payoff (albeit slightly far-fetched) to be worth the wait and there is a small bite (perhaps a nip?) at the perils of the must-know-everything-now nature of our modern online society. Whilst the feel-good, "everything will be OK" ending is slightly odd, it is not a complete deal-breaker.In sum, an entertaining film for the most part which strikes a happy balance between murder-mystery and comment on our obsession with mass and social media. I am fast becoming a fan of director Nakamura's work and his ability to jump genres and still tell an entertaining story. If you enjoyed 'The Snow White Murder Case' I highly recommend Nakamura's comedy/drama/action/apocalyptic sci-fi mish-mash 'Fish Story' for a similarly twisty story told from several perspectives.

Kicino This crime suspense is definitely worth your money since it includes so many elements: apart from the usual murder suspense and guess who is the killer, weaved into the mystery is the role of twitter and gossip-style TV programmes. Also, buried into the core of the murder of the beautiful snow white office lady Noriko Miki (Nanao) is the fundamental belief/myth that beauty is often associated with a positive personality. Added to all these is how we choose/reconstruct our memory and express ourselves.With such a rich plot the script and direction has to be systematically laid out and they do. The audience can easily be sucked into the story from the beginning when TV crew Yuji Akahoshi (Go Ayano) goes to a friend Risako Karino (Misako Renbutsu)'s house to be informed of a murder in her company.The movie opens well and creates an impression that the beautiful Noriko (Snow White) is nice and kind and innocent. As the story slowly unfolds, we discover that she is not as perfect as she appears to be and our main suspect, her co-worker Miki Shirono (Mao Inoue) is not as bad as she seems. The way the movie lays out testimonials from different people who talk about their selected reality or even lie about it is very enticing. It is sort of like Rashomon but despite all these different versions there is got to be only one reality. Therefore it becomes very interesting deducing each witness' different motives and whether they are lying. It is extremely intriguing to see how colleagues and coworkers perceive the same person and recount their experience with that person differently. What is most interesting is that their evidence do not add up because it is not a conventional/professional police investigation which supposedly cross-examines different witnesses and irons out conflicting facts. Instead, it is from the point of view of data collection for a juicy talk show and a personal twitter of one of the TV crew. I am not familiar with Japanese justice system but this type of talk show, going on air while police is still investigating the case, could easily cause the TV station to be committing contempt of court. Other than exposing how human selectively remember/recount their experience, these interviews are also done in absolute free flow. In order words, there are no follow up questions for verification or triangulation of the evidence. Ditto the twitters of the crew. With the explosion of information and democratic use of social media, everyone can act like a journalist or columnist but that might not necessarily lead to fairness or justice. With an unsophisticated audience, the public can easily be misled and even a police investigation could easily be skewed. The situation almost steer into online bully and media trial which is grossly unfair to the people involved. I wish the script could explore more on this aspect. In a way, there are probably too many characters involved too. Therefore, it may be difficult to depict the main storyline deep enough or the motive plausible enough. The movie seems to lose momentum after the TV crew goes to the suspect's hometown and the audience learn more about the early years of some of the main characters. The ending was somehow weak and meek compared with the enticing beginning and smooth development. I quite enjoyed the same author Kanae Minato's previous work Confession. But this story is a little overbuilt with a weak end. In terms of crime thriller, I think it is not as good as Gone Girl, although both were written by a female author depicting a female killer. However, the Snow White Murder Case is quite worth watching as it makes you wonder what lies behind each person's façade, regardless of their beauty, their name and their position.

alalchemical This is what I love about Japanese cinema. It is not all the time that I could catch a story as gripping as this one. I'm a fan of crime mysteries and this one is a treat! I have "Confessions", a Japanese film, in my mind during my first watch of TSWMC. Although it is not as psychological and as dark as the earlier film, there was still the trademark of the wonderful skill of plot construction of its writer. (Both films are based on her novels) I liked this film even more because of the appearances of Mao Inoue and Mitsuki Tanimura, and also because the theme of the use of social network inappropriately at times is timely and significant. Direction was okay, it did not feel forced and I liked it that way. Actors did really well. Not much of violence were shown. You'll like this even more if you're a fan of plot twists in movies. Personally this is the best Japanese film (if not the best film at all) I've seen this year so far. (Review previously posted on my Letterboxd account.) I recommend this crime mystery/drama.