Well known for kaiju (monster) films populated by giant luminaries such as Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan, Toho Inc. now brings us "Cross Fire," an sf thriller about a pyrokinetic office lady at odds with Japanese corruption. Adapted from a novel by best-selling author Miyuki Miyabe, the movie is directed and coscripted by award-winning auteur Shusuke Kaneko.

Kaneko's latest offering is a bid at serious, adult-oriented cinema.

" 'Cross Fire' is not only a fantasy film, but is also a tale of life in modern Japan," said the director during a location shoot in Tokyo this February. "The country has been experiencing upheaval stacked upon upheaval for so long now it's getting hard for people to sit quietly and let things happen or go about eliciting consensus. I was attracted to this story by my growing belief that drastic measures must be taken to curb the rise of wrongdoing in the nation."