Mystery writer Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992) was long to the Japanese entertainment industry what Stephen King has been to Hollywood — a one-man fiction factory who supplied material for dozens of films and TV dramas.

One of his most popular novels, "Zero no Shoten" ("Zero Focus"), was made into a 1961 film by Yoshitaro Nomura. Now Isshin Inudo has directed a new version, evidently quite faithful to Matsumoto's novel — unread by me.

Since his feature debut in 1995 with "Futari ga Shabetteru" ("Two People Talking"), Inudo has made a mix of indie and commercial projects. What both types of films often share, though, are strong female characters and a visual richness, even on an indie budget.