Get a First Look at Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Latest Film

Acclaimed genre filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s (Pulse, Cure, Cloud) latest film, Kokurojo: The Samurai and The Prisoner, is poised to have its first look at Berlinale’s European Film Market later this month. Per Variety, Charades is handling the sale, with plans to premiere select footage to buyers ahead of a Japanese release later this year.

The project has been described as Kurosawa’s most ambitious to date. Adapted from Honobu Yonezawa’s award-winning historical mystery novel “Kokurojo,” Kurosawa’s film stars Masahiro Motoki, Masaki Suda, Yoshitaka, Munetaka Aoki, Ryota Miyadate, Tasuku Emoto, and Joe Odagiri.

The synopsis reads: “Araki Murashige (Motoki) rebels against the tyrannical methods of Oda Nobunaga and launches a siege. The castle is surrounded by Oda forces, leaving him isolated and helpless. While keeping the hotheaded retainers in check, Murashige struggles to protect the castle and its people with the emotional support of his wife, Chiyoho (Yoshitaka Yuriko). One day, a young boy is murdered within the castle. After that, a series of mysterious incidents occur. The suspect is a retainer or family member inside the castle, which has become a locked room. Outside the castle are enemy forces. Inside the castle are traitors. As everyone becomes increasingly suspicious, Murashige attempts to solve the mystery with the help of Kuroda Kanbei (Suda), a dangerous and brilliant military strategist imprisoned in prison. What is the shocking truth behind the incident?” Check out a teaser trailer below:

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about a stateside release. In recent years, Kurosawa’s features have had a weird route to Western releases, with arriving as a kind of NFT, and first premiering on airlines, of all places, before landing on The Criterion Channel.