Hosoda’s ‘Scarlet’ Opens in Limited Release as Reviews Split on Bold Hamlet Reimagining

Overview

• Early notices diverge sharply, with TheWrap praising a daring, emotionally rich vision and the Associated Press delivering a two-star critique of overreach, followed by a mixed review from RogerEbert.com.
• Sony Pictures Classics is distributing the film, rated PG-13 and running 112 minutes, with both subtitled Japanese and English-dubbed versions.
• Scarlet reimagines Hamlet’s revenge arc through a dreamlike afterlife setting that emphasizes questions of violence, forgiveness and cycles of conflict across eras.
• The story pairs its royal protagonist with Hijiri, a modern-day paramedic whose pacifist outlook counterbalances the pursuit of vengeance.
• Principal voice cast includes Mana Ashida as Scarlet, Kôji Yakusho as Claudius and Masaki Okada as Hijiri.