Can we ever really know someone? A widow hires an attorney to uncover her late husband’s true identity. A film by Kei Ishikawa, starring Masataka Kubota, Sakura Ando and Satoshi Tsumabuki.

A film adaptation of ある男 (A MAN), a novel written by 平野 啓一郎 (Keiichiro Hirano) first published in 2018 about a divorce attorney who accepts an unusual request from a former client to investigate her recently deceased husband, after she discovered that he had been living a lie.

武本里枝/Rie Takemoto (安藤サクラ/Sakura Ando), is a widow who lives with her mother 初江/Hatsue (山口美也子/Miyako Yamaguchi) and her previously failed marriage’s son 悠人/Yuto (森優理斗/Yurito Mori). She owns a stationary store where she meets 谷口大祐/Daisuke Taniguchi (窪田正孝/Masataka Kubota), a mysterious man who has recently moved to a small town in Miyazaki prefecture and begins working as a lumberjack. He frequently visits her store to purchase art supplies for his paintings but the real reason is to see her.

They begin their friendship as acquaintances. Rie tells a heartbreaking story about her younger son who died when he was only two years old, and the grief that led to her divorce. Rie and Daisuke fall in love, marry, and start a family. They have a daughter together. Although there’s something strange about Daisuke, he appears frightened when he sees his own reflection but he never explains why.

Several years later, Daisuke dies in a weird accident in front of Yuto (坂元愛登/Manato Sakamoto). At the funeral, Rie meets 谷口恭一/Kyoichi Taniguchi (眞島秀和/Hidekazu Mashima), Daisuke’s estranged brother for the first time. But when Kyoichi sees the photo of Daisuke, he is startled, then he tells Rie that the man in the photo is not his brother.

Rie asks 城戸章良/Akira Kido (妻夫木聡/Satoshi Tsumabuki), a lawyer who previously worked on her divorce case, to assist her in sorting things out. Akira informs her that she will receive money from her late husband’s life insurance regardless of his genuine identity, but the investigation to find his true identity is going to take some time. We’ll refer to him as “Mr. X” from now on.

Why did Mr. X pretend to be Daisuke Taniguchi? Did Mr. X change his name to hide his past crime? Where is the real Daisuke? Is he still alive? There are so many unanswered questions. Akira travels to Gunma prefecture to learn more about the real Daisuke (仲野太賀/Taiga Nakano) from his brother, who runs a family-owned hotel famous for its hot springs.

Akira visits a bar where 後藤美涼/Misuzu Goto (清野菜名/Nana Seino), Daisuke’s childhood girlfriend, works, and she recalls the last time she saw Daisuke was around the time his father died, and then he suddenly vanished without texts or phone calls.

As the mystery surrounding Mr. X unravels, we learn more about his dark past from those who truly knew him. All his life, He had struggled with the fact that his father was a murderer. As a result, he decided to switch identities and start a new life. But every time he looked in the mirror, all he saw was his father’s face, his father’s blood running through his veins, defining him. He was always scared that one day he wouldn’t be able to control himself and would commit an unspeakable crime like his father.

The film tackles a variety of intriguing issues such as trauma of losing the loved ones, social prejudice against ethnicity, the discrimination, the death penalty, inherited traits and the question of one’s true identity. What is it that makes you who you are? The director can create memorable moments from simple yet heartfelt conversations everyone can relate. The only scene I felt a bit let down is the reappearance of real Daisuke, I wish he had stayed a mystery and kept the audience speculating where he could be.

This is an excellent thriller directed by 石川慶 (Kei Ishikawa). Everything is top-notch, from the principal actors to the minute details. Fantastic cinematography, with each shot meticulously framed. And I absolutely adore the usage of “La reproduction interdite,” a painting by Belgian surrealist René Magritte (1937) at the beginning and at the end of the film.

ある男 (A MAN) premiered at Biennale di Venezia on 1 September 2022. It was theatrically released in Japan on 18 November.

ある男 (A MAN) was nominated for 13 awards in 12 categories at 第46回日本アカデミー賞 (46th Japan Academy Film Prize) on March 10, 2023, including 最優秀作品賞 (Best Picture), 最優秀監督賞 (Best Director), 最優秀脚本賞 (Best Screenplay), 最優秀主演男優賞 (Best Actor), 最優秀助演男優賞 (Best Supporting Actor), 最優秀助演女優賞 (Best Supporting Actress), 最優秀撮影賞 (Best Cinematography), 最優秀照明賞 (Best Lighting), 最優秀音楽賞, (Best Music), 最優秀美術賞 (Best Production Design), 最優秀録音賞 (Best Sound Recording) and 最優秀編集賞 (Best Editing)

The film won 8 awards as follows; Best Film (ある男), Best Director (石川慶), Best Actor (妻夫木聡), Best Supporting Actor (窪田正孝), Best Supporting Actress (安藤サクラ), Best Screenplay (向井康介), Best Sound Recording (小川武) and Best Film Editing (石川慶)