This hasn't been a great decade for new Japanese filmmakers, but Kazuya Shiraishi has left his mark. Since debuting with "Lost Paradise in Tokyo" (2009), the Hokkaido-born director has been churning out movies at a prolific clip.
Some, like crime dramas "The Devil's Path" (2013) and "The Blood of Wolves" (2018), have been very good indeed; others, like this year's "A Gambler's Odyssey 2020," were total duds. Yet it's always interesting to see what Shiraishi will come up with next — and he seldom keeps you waiting long.
"One Night" is the third film the director has released during 2019, and with its starry cast and torrid family drama, it's possibly the most conventional thing he's done to date. Based on a stage play by Yuko Kuwabara, it delves into themes that are familiar from Shiraishi's previous work: whether the ends ever justify the means, and if there's any hope for people who commit awful deeds.