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A dead couple. A stranger obsessed with their local paper. Nothing is what it seems.
TMDB
63
IMDb
57

The Woman Who Took the Local Paper (2016)

slow-burn mysteryperiod atmosphereobsession-driven

Overview

DramaTV MovieMystery

A man and a woman committed double suicide in Kanazawa City. Immediately after the incident, Yoshiko Shiota, a woman living in Tokyo, contacts the local newspaper of Kanazawa, saying she wants to read the novel serialized in it by Ryuji Sugimoto. How did this woman know the novel is serialized in the newspaper? And why does she want to start reading it in the middle of the story? Which article was she actually interested in? Sugimoto cannot help making his own investigations about Yoshiko, but the more he searches, the more astonishing facts come to light...

Flag of JPJPJapanese
Content warning
tokyo, japantrainhusband wife relationshipnewspaperreporternovelistblackmail松本清張

Standout Aspects

Acting

Hirosue Ryoko's unreadable stillness—every glance hides three secrets

Direction

Fujita lets dread accumulate through empty train stations and silence

Writing

Matsumoto Seicho's source novel: social critique disguised as potboiler

Best for:Solo: Late night when you want to feel unsettled in the best way·Streaming: Japanese mystery fans who've exhausted Kurosawa and need more
Heads up:Disturbing: Themes of suicide, manipulation, and systemic misogyny throughout·Triggers: Coercive control and emotional abuse depicted without explicit violence
Meiji Fujita

Director

Meiji Fujita

ReleasedMar 12, 2016
Runtime1h 48m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow
Intensitymedium
Tonedark
Feelheavy
TV Asahi

Top Cast

Masakazu Tamura

Masakazu Tamura

Sugimoto Ryuji

Hirosue Ryoko

Hirosue Ryoko

Shiota Yoshiko

Asami Mizukawa

Asami Mizukawa

Tasaka Fujiko

Yukiya Kitamura

Yukiya Kitamura

Shiota Hayao

Nana Katase

Nana Katase

Hirota

Taro Suruga

Taro Suruga

Shoda Sakuji

Risa Sudou

Risa Sudou

Fukuda Umeko

Houka Kinoshita

Houka Kinoshita

Kojima

Naomi Nishida

Naomi Nishida

Shoda Megumi

Mitsuko Ishii

Mitsuko Ishii

Ryoko Yuui

Ryoko Yuui

Kazuyuki Aijima

Kazuyuki Aijima

Sumie Sasaki

Sumie Sasaki

Shiota Hisako

Kohji Moritsugu

Kohji Moritsugu

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

Matsumoto Seicho revolutionized Japanese mystery by making ordinary women his detectives and criminals—radical for 1960s Japan.

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