Case Of The Disjointed Murder (1977)
aka Unrelated Murder Cases
aka Furenzoku satsujin jiken
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Thriller
Country: Japan | Director: Chûsei Sone
Language: Japanese | Subtitles: English (Optional, embedded in mkv file)
Aspect ratio: Cinemascope 2.35:1 | Length: 139mn
Dvdrip H264 Mkv – 853×354 – 23.976fps – 2.14gb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367763/
A screen adaptation of Furenzoku satsujin jiken, a mystery novel written by Ango Sakaguchi and originally serialized as part of a magazine from 1947 to 1948. It was run like a game where the readers were promised prize money if they could guess the killer and motives correctly. This is what Chusei Sone chose to adapt for his ATG film and it’s a very ambitious choice because there are so many characters in this film and the story gets intentionally convoluted to ultimately achieve an ironic effect.
Without getting too much into the story the majority of the film involves this large group of the postwar upper-crust being quarantined in a mansion where they had gathered together while detectives try to get down to the bottom of one murder, that becomes two murders, and so on and so forth… And in the process the complex web of relationships between these people gets revealed. The mystery story is used to remark on the psychology of the postwar society. The depiction of these well-to-do characters that often really hate one another yet are stuck together in this place for better or for worse reminds me of some Buñuel films at times.
All of this is backed by the anachronistic prog rock of Cosmos Factory that surprisingly fits perfectly and is one highlight of the film.
Perhaps inspired by the success of the detective novel adaptations of the 70’s, roman porno director Chûsei Sone decided to tackle his own version of the subject. This is exquisitely filmed (lots of wide shots, characters are almost always cramped together, etc.) and it’s certainly a worthy addition to the genre, with a great cast and featuring a young Yuya Uchida (RIP!).
Case Of The Disjointed Murder (1977)
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