Review: Horror's Kiyoshi Kurosawa pivots to power plays in the absorbing 'The Samurai and the Prisoner'

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Set us as preferred Frequently in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “The Samurai and the Prisoner,” characters insist that the film’s principal setting, a military compound known as Arioka Castle, is impenetrable.It’s certainly beautiful: Lovingly production-designed by Tetsuo Harada, it’s a feast of rich wood and gorgeous natural light, an earthly paradise nestled in the mountains of Japan in the late 16th century, its strong walls seemingly impervious to invaders.But the longer we spend time at Arioka, the more that paradise starts resembling a prison.

The dangers are mounting outside and distrust simmers within.Based on Honobu Yonezawa’s 2021 novel and already a smash in Japan, the movie centers on feudal conflicts and the ever-present threat of war.But structurally, “The Samurai and the Prisoner” revolves around a series of mysteries that unfold, one after another, over the course of about a year.

Recently turned 71, Kurosawa is renowned for horror classics like 1997’s “Cure” and 2001’s “Pulse.” Yet the writer-director has worked in other genres and his latest finds him trying his hand at a whodunit within the trappings of a historical drama.In the process, he’s made a war film with almost no battle scenes and a character study in which audiences may not know how they feel about the protagonist by the end.

“The Samurai and the Prisoner” contains no scares but is suitably haunted.Movies The director became emblematic of two of J-horror’s most haunting achievements, ‘Cure’ and ‘Pulse.’ ‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’ is a turn toward complexity.Masahiro Motoki plays Murashige, a real-life warrior of the era whose clan broke with the hawkish Oda (Bando Shingo), seeking refuge in Arioka Castle.

Although surrounded by Oda’s soldiers just beyond Arioka’s walls, Murashige’s men assure hi...