Half a Confession (Japanese: 半落ち, Hepburn: Han'ochi) is a 2004 Japanese drama film directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.
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Summary
Respected inspector Soichiro Kaji is imprisoned for killing his wife, Keiko, who, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, requested it. His colleagues at Tokyo Police Force discover that Kaji intended to commit suicide after killing her, but instead went away on a bullet train two days later. A suspicious item is found in his coat pocket that suggests Kaji was unfaithful. The incident makes headlines in Tokyo, where a young female reporter sets out to find the truth about the acclaimed yet intriguingly silent defendant. Soichiro Kaji has drawn the interest of many: lawyer, judge, detective, relative... Slowly they weave the tale behind it all and tentatively tread upon the question of euthanasia.
Cast
Akira Terao: Soichiro Kaji
Mieko Harada: Keiko Kaji
Hidetaka Yoshioka
Mayu Tsuruta
Kyohei Shibata
Kirin Kiki: Yasuko Shimamura
Reiko Takashima
Jun Kunimura
Tsuyoshi Ihara
Tomoko Naraoka
Reception
The film was nominated for twelve awards at the 2005 Japan Academy Prize, winning Best Film and Best Actor. It also won the award for Best Actor at the 2005 Blue Ribbon Awards.