Set during Japan’s tumultuous Sengoku period, veteran filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest film follows warlord Lord Murashige who, in defying the formidable Oda, finds his stronghold sealed off from outside help. As the castle’s internal order collapses under the weight of a string of baffling crimes, he forms a fragile alliance with a razor-minded captive — whom he has imprisoned in his dungeon — in a race to root out a traitor before Oda’s army closes in. Known primarily in the U.S. for his influential psychological horror films (CURE, PULSE, CHIME), Kurosawa is no stranger to other modes as evidenced by his recent dystopian thriller CLOUD and his 2008 family drama TOKYO SONATA, a horror film in its own right. In tackling the samurai film (fans of Columbo, take note), Kurosawa breaks new ground in this meticulously designed and faithful adaptation of Honobu Yonezawa’s prize-winning historical novel.
“Kurosawa has made one of his best films, a work that feels a bit like Agatha Christie, a bit like Shakespeare, and even a bit like Samurai Columbo. It’s a dense chamber piece with big ideas and riveting performances, but it’s nothing without the genre-boundless acumen of its creator.” —Brian Tallerico, rogerebert.com “The Japanese jack-of-all-genres becomes master of yet one more…. Classical, if pared-back, in approach — at once a satisfyingly linked series of rousing whodunnits, a tricksy game of mental cat-and-mouse and a trenchant, often rather moving, exploration of the nature of true leadership, in all its solitude and sacrifice.” —Jessica Kiang, Variety “It’s a handsomely mounted piece that leans more towards psychological warfare than the sword-based bloodshed that fans of Kurosawa’s previous work might expect…. A stately slow-burn in which every conversation feels like a move in a chess match.” —Wendy Ide, ScreenDaily
