Overview
- The film bowed in the Cannes Premiere strand in mid-May and has begun to draw wide festival coverage and reviews.
- Adapted from Honobu Yonezawa’s 2021 novel, the movie is set during the 1578 siege of Arioka Castle and is built as four linked murder-mystery episodes that run about 147 minutes.
- Critics praised Kurosawa’s direction, the production design and the intense interplay between leads Masahiro Motoki and Masaki Suda while noting the film’s deliberate, highly talky pace.
- Kurosawa shot the picture largely on Shochiku Studio’s historical sets and at temples and castles in Kyoto, treating the castle interiors as theatrical, architecturally precise spaces.
- Trade and festival reports say Janus has the U.S. rights and that a July 31 theatrical opening is planned, though those distribution details are reported rather than confirmed by the company.