JFF26 The Samurai and the Prisoner

In his first-ever period film, renowned director Kiyoshi KUROSAWA (Cure, Tokyo Sonata) delivers the majestic historical thriller THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER. A compelling fusion of samurai spectacle and whodunnit intrigue, the story follows a samurai lord drawn into a series of shadowy murders within his own castle walls in feudal Japan. The year is 1578, and Lord Murashige ARAKI (Masahiro MOTOKI) is barricaded inside his fortress in Settsu Province as the forces of powerful rival warlord Oda close in. When Oda’s brilliant strategist Kanbei KURODA (Masaki SUDA) arrives as an envoy bearing a warning, an enraged Murashige detains him instead of ordering his execution, keeping the prisoner as a valuable yet dangerous pawn. But when an inexplicable murder rocks the castle, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with his captive, whose razor-sharp intellect may be the key to solving the crime and exposing a hidden traitor before the court tears itself apart… Adapted from the award-winning novel by Honobu YONEZAWA, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER is a richly atmospheric, tightly wound thriller that seamlessly melds the samurai and detective genres. Draws on the contemplative simplicity of classic mid-century Japanese cinema, director KUROSAWA delivers an elegant and probing portrait of power, honour and survival under pressure.