The Samurai And The Prisoner

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the Japanese horror master behind Cure, Serpents Path, and Cloud, tries his hand at a classic jidaigeki (period drama) and proves his talent. This meticulously composed drama, set in 16th-century Japan, is a tense and metaphysical whodunit with the director’s characteristic philosophical overtones.

When Lord Murashige (Masahiro Motoki) rises up against the tyrannical Oda (Bando Shingo), he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With Oda’s army closing in and a traitor hiding among his ranks, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kanbei Kuroda (Masaki Suda), a brilliant yet dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon, as he must uncover the truth before the castle falls