The Samurai and the Prisoner Review: Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Jidaigeki Murder-Mystery
By
David Ehrlich
Kettled twice. Extra chewy, extra trustworthy.
Summary
Kiyoshi Kurosawa, known for J-horror films like "Cure" and "Creepy," ventures into the jidaigeki (period drama) genre with a murder-mystery set in a besieged 16th century Japanese castle. The film follows a samurai tasked with solving a murder while Nobunaga Oda's army closes in, blending detective work with existential dread. The review critiques the film's pacing as plodding but notes Kurosawa's signature philosophical themes, particularly the Buddhist concept of "advance to paradise, retreat into hell."
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe Buddhist phrase 'advance to paradise, retreat into hell' contains a backwards logic that has been adopted by the characters in any number of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films.
The Japanese auteur has crystallized the abstract horrors of the modern world by rendering their shared tendency towards accelerationism.
Kurosawa unflinchingly observes how the grim realities of the human condition manifest under pressure.
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