Well known for kaiju (monster) films populated by giant luminaries such as Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan, Toho Inc. now brings us "Cross Fire," an sf thriller about a pyrokinetic office lady at odds with Japanese corruption. Adapted from a novel by best-selling author Miyuki Miyabe, the movie is directed and coscripted by award-winning auteur Shusuke Kaneko.

Kaneko's latest offering is a bid at serious, adult-oriented cinema.

" 'Cross Fire' is not only a fantasy film, but is also a tale of life in modern Japan," said the director during a location shoot in Tokyo this February. "The country has been experiencing upheaval stacked upon upheaval for so long now it's getting hard for people to sit quietly and let things happen or go about eliciting consensus. I was attracted to this story by my growing belief that drastic measures must be taken to curb the rise of wrongdoing in the nation."

Kaneko made a name for himself in the fantasy filmmaking world with his Gamera trilogy, a series about a giant monster turtle that defends the Earth against evil invaders. Toho rival Daiei Inc. began producing Gamera films in the 1960s as an answer to Toho's Godzilla. Childish and shoddy, the Gamera of the '60s was regarded as a second-rate knockoff.

In 1995, Daiei revived the series with "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe." Injecting Gamera with real-world savvy, Kaneko gave plausibility to the concept of giant monsters by abandoning the genre's cliches. His less-than-flattering depiction of slow-to-react government officials, combined with innovative special effects, earned the 44-year-old director a reputation as one of Japan's most forthright filmmakers.

In "Cross Fire," Kaneko attacks the abuse of power by a select few through the story of Junko Aoki, a young woman with the ability to produce fire at will. Initially quiet and reserved, Junko resolves to avenge the murder of her lover's sister, killed by an underage youth politically protected by his eminent business-leader father. Junko uses her fire-starting powers to challenge the authority of the police, the business world and the entire social system.

"Naturally, people do not have pyrokinetic powers," Kaneko says, "but the audience will accept this once they come to understand Junko's anger and hatred." Neither preachy nor judgmental, Kaneko's movie features familiar images and situations, lulling the audience into accepting their more outrageous elements.

Junko is played by Akiko Yada, the first appearance of the 21-year-old in a lead role. "I was approached by Kaneko after he saw me in the film 'Karaoke,' " Yada says. "Reading the script, I became attracted to the part as I can relate completely to Junko's feelings of social isolation."

"Cross Fire" employs a wide range of special effects, and not surprisingly, many are of a pyrotechnic nature. Stunt men wearing padded suits and covered with protective cream were torched. Extensive burn-makeup effects were created by a staff culled from the crew of "Godzilla 2000: Millennium." For Yada, a stranger to the ways of special-effect cinema, "Cross Fire" was a baptism by fire.

"When we started," Yada says, "it was difficult imagining the offscreen explosions and burnings. After a time, mostly due to the crew's enthusiasm, it became easier to believe the fantastic elements of the film. In fact, I eventually connected so well to the character and story that at times I found myself answering to the name of Junko rather than my own."

Last summer, Kaneko attended two overseas screenings of his previous film, "Gamera 3," in Holland and Montreal. Both showings were met with wild enthusiasm. Kaneko views this as a pivotal point in his filmmaking career.

"Watching the reaction of a foreign audience to 'Gamera 3' changed the way I make movies," Kaneko says. "For one, I no longer feel they are just for Japanese. This means I have to be careful when I use cultural icons, as they might not be understood by the people of other nations.

"Also, foreign audiences can really take a film's story to heart. When 'Gamera 3' played in L.A., people were standing on their seats rooting for Gamera; at its premiere in Tokyo, people reacted with polite clapping during the final credits."

In 1988, Kaneko won the Yokohama Film Festival Best New Director Award for his first movie, "Summer Vacation 1999," and a Nikkatsu Award for "Last Cabarette." His "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion" received the Tokumashoten Best Science Fiction Film of 1997 Award. In 1993 he directed a segment for the U.S. anthology film "Necronomicon" starring David Warner.

With a budget of less than $5 million it is doubtful "Cross Fire" can truly compete with Hollywood's behemoths. Nevertheless, Kaneko has put together a film he believes will remind people that there is more to Japanese fantasy cinema than rampaging giant monsters.