Renowned filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa (CURE, PULSE) turns his lens to the winter of 1578 in feudal Japan with THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER, a stunning adaptation of Honobu Yonezawa‘s award-winning 2003 historical mystery novel “Kokurôjô.”

When Lord Murashige Araki (Masahiro Motoki) rises up against the tyrannical Nobunaga Oda (Masaki Suda), 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. Helped by his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.

“Kiyoshi Kurosawa may have made a Samurai murder mystery, but beneath the armor and political intrigue is a warning about what happens when war convinces people that dying honorably matters more than living at all.” (The Nerds of Color)

“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.” (RogerEbert.com)

“What emerges is a samurai picture that feels simultaneously classical and modern, austere and capacious, familiar and surprising.” (New York Times)

“There is a patience and commitment on display from Kurosawa that requires an equal investment and energy from his audience. But it also doesn’t take much to fully give in to this intricately constructed world of vengeance and mercy, order and dishonour.” (Globe and Mail)

“The Samurai and the Prisoner’ may be set centuries earlier, but it’s a Kurosawa movie through and through. The talk is grave, the editing unhurried; the camera holds multiple characters in the frame and watches them from a sedate remove.” (The New Yorker)

Thursday, September 24
Doors 5:30 pm | Movie 6:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets HERE

Sunday, September 26
Doors 2:30 pm | Movie 3:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets HERE

THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER “Kokurôjô” (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2026 / 147 mins / 14A / Japanese w. EST) Inside sealed Arioka Castle during a rebellion against Oda Nobunaga, rebel Araki Murashige and captive strategist Kuroda Kanbei engage in a tense battle of wits to solve mysterious crimes.

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