The Samurai and the Prisoner

Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Japan

2026

147 mins

Unclassified 15+

Veteran auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, SFF 1998) delivers his first-ever samurai film with this majestic, Cannes-selected epic set in Japan's Warring States period.

Japan, 1578. Lord Araki Murashige (Masahiro Motoki, Departures) is at war with former ally, Oda. Oda sends gifted strategist Kuroda Kanbei (Masaki Suda, Cloud) as an envoy to Arioka Castle, where Murashige is holed up. Instead of executing Kanbei, as is samurai custom, Murashige imprisons him in his dungeon, keeping him as a valuable, yet dangerous, pawn. Set over four seasons, each surrounding a puzzling occurrence within Arioka Castle that Murashige must solve, the film masterfully melds elements of the samurai and detective genres, adapting the award-winning novel by Honobu Yonezawa. With supreme elegance, beauty and thematic control, The Samurai and the Prisoner earns its place in the esteemed canon of Japanese samurai cinema.

Based on the novel "The Samurai and the Prisoner" by Honobu Yonezawa (KADOKAWA Corporation)

“Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s adaptation is both a murder mystery and mesmerizing epic.”

Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

Tickets

Sat 6 June 2026, 2:45pm

Past Event

Sydney Opera House Playhouse

Sydney Opera House

Book

Sat 13 June 2026, 2:20pm

Past Event

State Theatre

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