The Devotion of Suspect X was the inspiration for the 2008 Japanese mystery-thriller film Suspect X, which was directed by Hiroshi Nishitani. The cast of the movie was the same as that of the popular Japanese serial drama Galileo.
It was the third-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2008 and held the top spot at the box office for Japan for four weeks in a row. The release day for the soundtrack was October 1st, 2008. The Devotion of Suspect X was adapted for the big screen for the first time in Suspect X, then in Kolaigaran (2019) from India and Perfect Number (2012) from South Korea.
There has been a murder, but the police are unable to pierce the primary suspect’s alibi, posing challenges to their investigation. The owner of a restaurant, Yasuko Hanaoka (Yasuko Matsuyuki) is a divorced single mother.
Yasuko and Misato’s neighbor is Tetsuya Ishigami (Shinichi Tsutsumi), a reclusive but talented mathematics teacher. Ishigami is gloomy and introspective, and the highlight of his day is his morning conversations with Yasuko, whose restaurant he purchases lunch from.
The fact that the mother killed her ex-husband and the neighbor hushed it up is revealed fairly early on, but it doesn’t give much away. Beyond that, there are many more levels of mystery, and you have to watch the entire movie to find out what they are.
Perhaps that is simply a result of how well-written the original work was, but at the very least, this Chinese version doesn’t ruin the story. Up to the very end, there is suspense, excitement, and brain food, so you should be guaranteed to be entertained.
Although the original Suspect X narrative was created in Japan, it’s funny to see Chinese police cars with the (Public Security) badge driving about for a change, as well as elements of the Chinese justice system (courtrooms, jail cells). For popular Chinese films, this hasn’t happened very often.
Suspect X is a really good piece of entertainment that is sophisticated enough to keep both your eyes and brain interested, perhaps as a result of a pretty well-thought-out source novel.
Suspect X Ending Explained
Tetsuya Ishigami, a somewhat reclusive but exceptional mathematics teacher who lives next door, is a regular customer of Yasuko Hanaoka, a recently divorced single mother who owns a restaurant. The highlight of Tetsuya’s day is purchasing lunch at Yasuko’s restaurant.
When Yasuko’s controlling ex-husband, Togashi, arrives one evening to demand money from her and her teenage daughter Misato, the situation quickly turns violent, and Togashi is slain by her mother and daughter on the apartment’s floor.
Tetsuya Ishigami offers the mother and daughter his assistance. Along with disposing of the body, he meticulously plans the cover-up. As soon as the body is discovered and identified, Yasuko is suspected. A physicist named Professor Manabu Yukawa is enlisted by the police to assist, but at first, he initially declines because the case has nothing to do with science.
Ishigami offers the mother and daughter his assistance after hearing the commotion from his room and realizing Togashi has been dead. Along with disposing of the body, he meticulously plans the cover-up.
As soon as the body is discovered and identified, Yasuko is suspected. Professor Manabu Yukawa (Masaharu Fukuyama), who realizes the case has nothing to do with physics, first declines to assist Detective Kaoru Utsumi (K Shibasaki) and her supervisor, Detective Shunpei Kusanagi. When Yukawa learns that Ishigami, a brilliant classmate, lives next door to the suspect, he reconsiders.
After a joyous reunion with Ishigami, whom he holds in the highest regard, he starts to question whether Ishigami was involved in the murder and resolves to look into the matter on his own. As Ishigami attempts to safeguard Yasuko by outwitting and outsmarting Yukawa, who is up against his most cunning and determined opponent yet, a high-level intellectual struggle begins.
When Yukawa eventually solves the case, he discovers a tragic and terrible truth that will benefit no one but the police. Yukawa is upset with the outcome this time despite his reputation for maintaining objectivity when settling problems.
Because Ishigami’s passion and sacrifice were in vain, the movie’s conclusion was depressing. It hurt to hear him cry in desperation towards the film’s conclusion. After Yukawa revealed the truth to the woman he was protecting—the woman who killed her ex-husband—she came forward.
