Keiho (Japanese: 39 刑法第三十九条, Hepburn: 39 keihō dai sanjūkyū jō) is a 1999 Japanese courtroom drama psychological thriller film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. It stars Shinichi Tsutsumi as an actor standing trial for a gruesome double murder. The film also stars Kyōka Suzuki, Ittoku Kishibe and Naoki Sugiura. Shochiku released Keiho on February 17, 1999, in Japan. The film was nominated for and won several major awards.
Contents
Premise
Young actor Masaki Shibata confesses to the murder of a pregnant woman and her husband. Shibata acts strangely in the aftermath, making a point of asking for the death penalty and ranting about angels and demons. The subsequent psychiatric evaluation reveals evidence of a split personality and concludes that Shibata may be unfit for trial. However, the assistant psychologist is convinced he’s faking the symptoms. A lead detective on the case also suspects that there is more to the situation than meets the eye.
Release
Keiho was theatrically released by Shochiku on February 17, 1999, in Japan. It was later released on VHS on April 21, 2000, and DVD on August 25, 2002 by Bandai Visual.
Awards and nominations
42nd Blue Ribbon Awards
Won: Best Actress - Kyōka Suzuki
49th Berlin International Film Festival
Nominated: Golden Bear
21st Yokohama Film Festival
Won: Best Film
Won: Best Director - Yoshimitsu Morita
Won: Best Screenplay - Sumio Ōmori
73rd Kinema Junpo Best Ten Awards
Best Ten List: 3rd place
Readers' Choice Top 10 Japanese Films of the Year: 5th place
Won: Best Actress – Kyōka Suzuki
54th Mainichi Film Awards
Won: Excellence Film (shared with Kikujiro, Spellbound and M/Other)
Won: Best Director – Yoshimitsu Morita
23rd Japan Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Screenplay – Sumio Ōmori
Nominated: Best Actress – Kyōka Suzuki
Nominated: Best Sound Recording – Fumio Hashimoto