‘F(r)iction’: A play within a film gets meta and messy

A rookie stage actor (Koshi Mizukami, right, with Haru Kuroki) cast as a true-life murder victim starts to lose track of who he really is in Yuri Takei’s “F(r)iction.” | RUI KONOIKE / BUNGEISHUNJU @ 2026 “F(R)ICTION” FILM PARTNERS

Oct 4, 2026

As anyone who’s taken part in a theatrical production will know, the real drama is often what’s happening offstage. Such is the case with Yuri Takei’s commercial film debut, “F(r)iction,” in which a stage play based on a true-life murder case runs into trouble when one of the leads starts to identify a little too closely with his character.

Tetsuro Tada (Koshi Mizukami) is a programmer with little prior acting experience who lands a key role in the latest production by Kaerude Kato (Kuranosuke Sasaki), a celebrated director with a well-earned reputation for bullying and sleazy behavior.

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