Time: 147 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence & suicide references
Cast:
Masahiro Motoki as Araki Murashige
Masaki Suda as Kuroda Kanbei
Yuriko Yoshitaka as Chiyoho
Munetaka Aoki as Araki Kyuzaemon
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

I was looking forward to The Samurai and the Prisoner. Kiyoshi Kurosawa has made great movies with Cure, Pulse and Cloud, so naturally I’m interested in seeing whatever he makes next. His latest appeared to be a very different film for him, a period piece set in Feudal Japan. I loved it, and it’s one of my favourites of the year.

Something that sold me on the movie beyond Kurosawa’s involvement was that this movie presented itself as a samurai murder mystery. It was definitely that, but it was a bit more than I was expecting. Of course I liked the murder mystery aspect, I found each mystery engaging and it goes through enjoyable twists and turns. It was also a character drama about faith, honour, morality and the consequences of war. It’s a very patient movie, steadily paced and restrained. There are minimal on screen conversations and the movie essentially is a chamber piece, with almost all of the movie taking place within Arioka Castle. It’s a dialogue heavy movie, very much feeling like a play at times, and the conversations are intriguing and captivating. It’s a dense movie, with lots of exposition, names, and things to keep track of and take in over its 2.5 hour runtime. I admit that at the beginning I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it, but the moment the first murder happened, I was locked in, and I found myself being more riveted and absorbed the further the movie progressed.

Masahiro Motoki is phenomenal in the lead role. He plays a warlord who is taking part in a rebellion, but doesn’t want to go to war, or at least not in the way that everyone else is. He tries to minimize resorting to violence, doesn’t want to kill anyone, and doesn’t execute prisoners. He was a compelling, complex and interesting character to follow as we see his internal struggle, and him gradually growing aware that people are losing faith in him over the course of the 10 months that this movie spans. It’s definitely one of my favourite performances of the year.  Equally great was Masaki Susa as the prisoner, you are never certain what’s going through his head, and his dynamic with Motoki is amazing. The supporting cast are all stellar too.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s work is amazing. Much of The Samurai and the Prisoner’s filmmaking felt old school with how patient it was, which works for this restrained drama. The visuals are striking with beautiful cinematography, with outstanding uses of wide shots, tracking shots and blocking. The production design and costume designs are top notch, so much of this movie’s environment feels so grounded, real and lived in.

The Samurai and the Prisoner is a contemplative, compelling, engaging, and incredibly written and directed historical mystery. One of the year’s best films.