Laplace's Witch

tags: Japanese, murder mystery, sci-fi, thriller, Takashi Miike

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from Asianwiki

Two people are poisoned to death by hydrogen sulfide at hot springs located in different regions. The police ask Aoe Shusuke, a geochemistry professor, to determine whether the deaths were caused by freak accidents or were murders. While investigating the cases, Aoe Shusuke comes across a young woman, Uhara Madoka who guesses correctly that a natural phenomenon will take place. The police begin to suspect Uhara Madoka might be related to the deaths.

Takashi Miike directing a murder mystery movie based on a novel by Keigo Higashino - how can I not love it. It's a 2-hour movie full of twists and turns, and a lot of intelligent dialog. It's hard to guess the who and why and my early assumptions are all proven wrong. As in Higashino's previous novels, the story uses mathematics and science, hence the title Laplace's Witch, from the writing by French scholar and polymath Pierre-Simon Laplace, Laplace's Demon. 2 young people who underwent procedures to have precognitive abilities as described in Laplace's Demon help in solving the murders.

Highly recommended.