AceShowbiz - The Samurai and the Prisoner, the latest film from acclaimed Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, has secured U.S. distribution rights through renowned specialty distributor Janus Films. The announcement comes ahead of the film’s world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, marking a highly anticipated moment for Kurosawa’s newest venture. The deal was arranged with Paris-based sales company Charades, with theatrical release plans expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Producers have described The Samurai and the Prisoner as Kurosawa’s most ambitious feature yet, showcasing a stellar cast led by veteran actor Masahiro Motoki, known internationally for his Oscar-winning performance in Departures (2009). He stars opposite Masaki Suda, a rising star who earned critical acclaim for his enigmatic role in Kurosawa’s 2024 thriller Cloud. The ensemble also includes notable performers such as Yuriko Yoshitaka, Munetaka Aoki, Ryota Miyadate, Tasuku Emoto, and Joe Odagiri.

At 70 years old, Kiyoshi Kurosawa ventures into the samurai period genre for the first time with this film, presenting what could be a defining late-career work. The narrative adapts Honobu Yonezawa’s award-winning novel Kokuroj?, which garnered both the 12th Futaro Yamada Award and the 166th Naoki Prize in Japan. Set against the backdrop of the Sengoku period, the story unfolds as a gripping drawing-room mystery inside a feudal castle under siege.

Producer Satoko Ishida highlighted the project’s uniqueness, calling it “a rare combination of putting jidaigeki [traditional Japanese period drama] and mystery together,” and described the film as “an ambitious and provoking journey.” Kurosawa has shared that he felt honored and somewhat daunted by Yonezawa’s invitation to adapt the novel, given the genre’s esteemed place in Japanese cinema history.

The plot centers on Lord Murashige Araki (Masahiro Motoki), who defies the powerful warlord Nobunaga Oda and becomes trapped within his own Arioka Castle. As Oda’s forces lay siege, a young samurai is mysteriously murdered inside the castle walls, sparking paranoia and distrust among the retainers. In a desperate bid to uncover the truth, Araki reluctantly allies with Kanbei Kuroda (Masaki Suda), a cunning strategist imprisoned in the castle dungeon. Together, supported by his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka), Araki races against time to solve the mystery before their fortress falls.

The film is a production of Shochiku in collaboration with Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, two prominent players in the Japanese entertainment industry.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa expressed his excitement about the film’s selection for Cannes, stating, “I was very positively surprised to learn that the story of the Sengoku warlord Araki Murashige, who rebelled against his lord Oda Nobunaga, will be screened in Cannes, transcending both borders and time.” He hopes international audiences will connect with the timeless nature of the story, adding, “If, by good fortune, people overseas can truly understand that this is something that could still happen even today, I would be immensely happy.”

Over his four-decade career, Kiyoshi Kurosawa has become a seminal figure in contemporary Japanese cinema, recognized worldwide through screenings at top festivals. The Samurai and the Prisoner marks his sixth film to be selected for Cannes’ Official Selection.

His breakthrough came with the 1997 psychological thriller Cure, followed by the influential J-horror film Pulse (2001). Since then, Kurosawa’s work has spanned diverse genres including family drama (Tokyo Sonata, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in 2008), supernatural romance (Journey to the Shore, Un Certain Regard Best Director in 2015), period espionage (Wife of a Spy, Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice 2020), French-language projects (Daguerrotype and Serpent’s Path), and most recently, the internet-culture thriller Cloud (2024), which premiered at Venice and was Japan’s official submission for the international feature Oscar.

Beyond directing, Kurosawa has influenced a generation of filmmakers through his role as a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts from 2005 to 2023. Among his students was future Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi and other emerging voices important to modern Japanese cinema.

Janus Films previously collaborated with Sideshow on the U.S. release of Cloud last year and has recently expanded its effort to showcase Kurosawa’s work to American audiences. This includes rare theatrical screenings of cult favorites such as Kurosawa’s 2024 horror short Chime and the 1998 crime thriller Serpent’s Path, currently playing in arthouse cinemas across major U.S. cities thanks to Janus.

With The Samurai and the Prisoner set for its Cannes premiere and upcoming U.S. release, Kiyoshi Kurosawa continues to solidify his status as a pioneering force in global cinema, blending traditional Japanese storytelling with innovative cinematic techniques.