‘A Midsummer’s Equation’ Screening at WLA UMC

Masaharu Fukuyama as Professor Yukawa

“A Midsummer’s Equation” or “Manatsu no Hoteishiki” (2013, 129 minutes), directed by Hiroshi Nishitani, will be screened on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at West Los Angeles United Methodist Church, 1913 Purdue Ave. in Los Angeles.

In this adaptation of Keigo Higashino’s sixth novel in the popular “Galileo” series, Masaharu Fukuyama reprises his role from 2008’s “Suspect X,” playing physicist-cum-detective Manabu Yukawa. The scientist-sleuth arrives in an oceanside town to speak on a panel. But when a man turns up dead outside the inn where he’s staying, Yukawa begins to unravel the connections that tie the victim to the activist daughter of the innkeepers, and a precocious boy who first appears on a train — and keeps popping up.

It’s a Sherlock Holmes mystery with an environmental twist, and one that should please fans of a classic whodunnit. Also starring Yuriko Yoshitaka, Anne Watanabe and Gin Maeda.

WLA UMC hosts free screenings of Japanese films every month. For more information on this and other church programs, call (310) 479-1379 or visit www.wlaumc.com.