13 kaidan (Thirteen Steps) (2003)

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A murder investigation takes a number of unexpected and unsettling turns in this suspense thriller from Japan. Nango (Tsutomu Yamazaki) is a prison guard moonlighting as a detective as he investigates the case of Toru Kihara (Kankuro Kudo), a petty thief who ten years before was convicted of a… More A murder investigation takes a number of unexpected and unsettling turns in this suspense thriller from Japan. Nango (Tsutomu Yamazaki) is a prison guard moonlighting as a detective as he investigates the case of Toru Kihara (Kankuro Kudo), a petty thief who ten years before was convicted of a multiple murder he claims he can't remember. Toru's lawyer Sugiura (Tsurubei Shofukutei) hires Nango at the request of a nameless client who wants to see Toru cleared, and Nango brings in Junichi Mikami (Takashi Sorimachi) to assist him; Nango met Junichi when the latter was serving time for manslaughter, and Nango wants to give the young ex-con a chance to start over. However, as they dig deeper into the case, Nango discovers several disturbing parallels between the crime for which Toru was convicted and Junichi's own record; he becomes especially alarmed when he learns Junichi was near the scene of Toru's alleged murder. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi