Japanese author Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s (The Spy’s Wife)’s first period drama and most ambitious feature film to date, “Kurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner,” has been boarded by Charade for the European film market at the Berlinale.
“Kuroro Castle” is a feudal mystery set in 16th century Japan, published by KADOKAWA Co., Ltd. in 2021, and is based on Honobu Yonezawa’s award-winning historical novel “Kuroro Castle” (“The Samurai and the Prisoner”), which has left its mark on history by sweeping the four major Japanese mystery awards, including the 12th Yamada Futaro Award and the 166th Naoki Award.
Shochiku, the 130-year-old Japanese studio that produced Yasujiro Ozu’s films and classics such as “Harakiri,” “Twilight Samurai” and “Okuribito,” is producing the Kurosawa film in collaboration with Tokyo Broadcast Television.
Paris-based Charade is handling the film’s international sales and will be showing buyers the first exclusive footage at the European Film Market ahead of its nationwide release in Japan, scheduled for later this year.
The multi-layered plot takes place during the so-called Sengoku period, a period marked by civil war and political and social upheaval. Combining Kurosawa’s signature psychological suspense with a vast historical canvas, “Kurojo Castle: The Samurai and the Prisoner” follows the story of Murashige Araki, who confronts the tyrannical Oda Nobunaga and finds himself surrounded within the walls of his own castle. “Isolated, he faces a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of the imperial court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With the Oda army closing in and a traitor lurking among his allies, Murashige is a genius trapped in a dungeon. But he is forced to form an uneasy alliance with the dangerous strategist Kanbei Kuroda. With the help of his wife Chiyoyasu and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.” Synopsis.
Written and directed by Kurosawa, with music by Yoshihiro Hanno (The Mountains May Leave), Kurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner boasts a star-studded ensemble that combines two of Japan’s most iconic actors for the first time. Masahiro Motoki (“Okuribito”) will play the role of Arakimura Executive, and Masaki Suda (“Kumo”, “Wilderness”) will play the role of Kanbei Kuroda. Co-stars include Yuriko Yoshitaka (Dear Radiance), Takataka Aoki, Ryota Miyadate, Yu Emoto, and Joe Odagiri.
Director Kurosawa is a prominent Japanese film director who has released six films at Cannes, including “Tokyo Sonata,” which won the Un Certain Regard award, and “A Journey to the Shore.” The 2020 film The Spy’s Wife won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival.
Charade co-founder Johan Conte said: “The collaboration with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Otsuka Shochiku is a great achievement for Charade and an important milestone as we build on our 2026 goals.”
“The film is ambitious, rich and complex,” said Comte, adding, “It’s a classic samurai film and will definitely appeal to fans of the genre.”
Meanwhile, producer Satoko Ishida said, “I’m very excited to be working with Charades on this very exciting and challenging project. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a master who is loved and respected by countless film lovers around the world.”
“The unusual combination of historical drama and mystery has been an ambitious and exciting journey for the director and all of us working on this project. But with a great cast and a great group of talented crew, we look forward to bringing a new and classic form of Japanese cinema to the production,” said director Satodo.
In France, “Black Castle: The Samurai and The Prisoner” will be released by Art House Films. French distributor head Eric Le Bot said he had seen extensive footage of the film and found it to be a “sophisticated and visually striking work, truly wonderful to watch, achieving a rare balance between narrative density and formal sophistication”.
Director Le Beau said, “The masterful use of chiaroscuro evokes the great Japanese classics while maintaining a very intimate atmosphere,” and called the film “a powerful and immersive vision of 16th-century Japan, definitely worth experiencing on the big screen.”
Charade’s current works include Louis Paxton’s debut feature The Incomer, which premiered at Sundance, and Yoshitoshi Shinomiya’s A New Dawn, which will be shown at the Berlinale.
