Reason (aka The Motive)

Based on a novel by hit mystery writer Miyuki Miyabe, Reason is a good example of Miyabe’s focus on the social causes of crime. What seems to be the murder of a family of four in a high-rise condo turns out to be something quite different, as the pasts of both the killer and the killer’s killer are explored, divulging their "reasons." First broadcast on the WOWOW satellite channel before being released in theaters, the film extends the novel into a different media by having many of the characters address the camera, not just making us the detective, but making us and the medium itself part of the society that may itself be the "reason."
 
2004, 160 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Takehiro Murata, Saki Terashima, Ryo Kase, Ayumi Ito, Toshie Negishi.

Part of Nobuhiko Obayashi: A Retrospective.

Tickets: $12/$9 Japan Society members, seniors & students

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