Laplace's Witch

Laplace's Witch follows a biochemistry professor, Shusuke Aoe, who is brought into a police investigation after two people die of hydrogen sulfide poisoning at hot springs in different parts of Japan. The authorities are unsure whether the deaths were accidental or deliberate, and Aoe's scientific expertise is meant to settle the question. During the inquiry he repeatedly encounters a high school student, Madoka Uhara, whose precise explanations of what happened are as convincing as they are suspicious. A third death follows, deepening the case and drawing Madoka further into the police's attention. The story, based on a novel by Keigo Higashino, sets its mystery against the idea of Laplace's demon, a thought experiment about a being able to know every particle's position and motion, and thus the whole of past and future.

The film was directed by Takashi Miike, released in 2018. It is film number 32 of the 42 films he has directed in chronological order, arriving between JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter 1 in 2017 and First Love in 2019. Hiroyuki Yatsu wrote the screenplay, and the cast includes Sho Sakurai as Aoe, Suzu Hirose as Madoka, Sota Fukushi, Tao Okamoto, Lily Franky and Mirai Shida. Produced by TOHO with dentsu and other partners, it took about 11 million dollars worldwide.

The ratings are modest: on IMDb it holds 5.2 from 774 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.2 from 40 votes, a small sample that reflects limited attention outside Japan.