Kiyoshi Kurosawa's long career has been an eclectic one tackling dramas, horror, thrillers, and science fiction with equal rigor. In his latest, The Samurai and the Prisoner, he takes on a new challenge with a 16th Century historical drama though it contains elements of murder mystery and existential crisis recognizable in Kurosawa's previous work. Prisoner is an adaptation of the original novel by Honobu Yonezawa which follows Lord Murashige (Masahiro Motoki) who has rebelled against the warlord Oda Nobunaga and finds himself under siege inside his castle home. While Murashige and his soldiers await reinforcements, Oda sends the brilliant Kanbei (Masaki Suda) as an envoy to convince Murashige to surrender. Murashige instead invites Kanbei to join his rebellion and imprisons him when he refuses. Following Kenbei's imprisonment, a series of improbable murders befalls the besieged castle inhabitants and Murashige must turn to Kanbei to help unravel the mysteries.
The film is broken up into seasonal periods, each defined by a new inexplicable murder. In the "winter" chapter, the son of a traitor who's life Murashige initially spares is found dead of an arrow wound but there's no sign of the murderer or the weapon. Murashige and his men conduct a thorough investigation which proves inconclusive but they record all of the details so that Kanbei can review them. Kanbei acquiesces and his strategic mind is so keen he is able to make sense of the murder using only the scrolls provided to him. The mysteries drive the narrative forward but the philosophical deliberations between Murashige and Kanbei provide much of the films essence. Kanbei is loyal both to Oda and the honorable (if brutal) code dictated by a country at war. Murashige, on the other hand, is looking for ways to circumvent the obligation to kill and forge a more merciful path towards social order. These conversations range from the murders, personal ideologies, and eventually Murashige looks to Kanbei to advise him in his conflict with Oda. The dynamic is somewhat reminiscent of Clarice bringing case files to Hannibal Lecter (Kanbei even manages to kill a guard through verbal manipulation alone), though it lacks both the arch tone and the drama of those exchanges. The investigations also lack some suspense as they serve more as a pretense for further discussion in the dungeon.
Prisoner is a tremendous looking film taking place almost exclusively in medium or wide shots of the gorgeously rendered castle or absolutely stunning outdoor locations. Kurosawa's camera is typically trained on two or more people further emphasizing the hierarchical relationship between individuals and their (sometimes fraying) loyalty towards each other. Attention was clearly lavished on period detail and beyond the castle, the costumes are composed of rich textiles and patterns and objects from tea urns to religious icons are given their due. The battle sequences are scant but grounded in reality rather than dramatic excess and further underscore the authenticity of the time and place. The performances, especially from Suda and Motoki, are excellent which is crucial for a film focused largely on people talking.
Part of Kurosawa's genius is his ability to imbue scenes featuring relatively little action with emotional or dramatic potency. Even when he misdirects to offscreen events, they can still be filled with tension or dread when executed well. The Samurai and the Prisoner is an interesting examination of honor, faith, and tradition but it's perhaps too reserved to land with the same impact as some of Kurosawa's earlier films. I definitely felt the length at 147 minutes, but happily there are some satisfying reveals worth sticking it out for.
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