'The Samurai and the Prisoner': Janus Films Secures U.S. Distribution Rights

Janus Films has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to "The Samurai and the Prisoner", a film adaptation by Kurosawa Kiyoshi of the award-winning historical novel by Yonezawa Honobu. The news precedes the movie's world premiere in the Cannes Premieres section. Janus will announce its official plan for the film's release in the coming weeks. Charades orchestrated international sales for the film and brokered the agreement with Janus.

"The Samurai and the Prisoner" is set in Japan’s Sengoku period and revolves around the story of Araki Murashige, a warlord who challenges the mighty Oda Nobunaga, only to have his fortress isolated. Amidst a string of perplexing crimes that wreak havoc within the castle, Araki forms a delicate pact with Kuroda Kanbei, a shrewd hostage dwelling in his own dungeon. The duo then embarks on finding the traitor before Oda’s army approaches. The source novel by Yonezawa garnered the 12th Futaro Yamada Award and the 166th Naoki Prize. The film was produced as a collaboration between Shochiku and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television.

Speaking about the film, Kurosawa expressed his gratitude and happiness, stating he was pleasantly surprised that the rebellion of the Sengoku warlord Araki Murashige against his lord Nobunaga would be showcased in Cannes, transcending time and borders. He added, his joy would be immense if the international audience could understand the similarity of the rebellion to events happening even today.

The film is a part of the powerful slate of Charades launching at Cannes 2026. The lineup features several competition titles and was recently enhanced with additions including the Berlinale 2026 selected “Dao”, Bi Gan’s “Resurrection”, and Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day” by Janus Films.