Kubi: the trailer for Takeshi Kitano’s film in competition at Cannes

The first teaser trailer of the upcoming Japanese war epic Kubi, by director Takeshi Kitano, in competition at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, has been released online in these hours

Director Takeshi Kitano had wanted to make this film for thirty years and started developing it in 1993. It resulted in a novel which he wrote and of which the film is adapted. The film tells the historianHonno-ji incident” of 1582, when an important vassal of Oda Nobunaga rebelled and made his master commit harakiri in Kyoto. Since then there have been discussions about the reasons for the revolt and whether Akechi Mitsuhide was really the ringleader. A historical fact of significant importance in Japanese culture is thus brought to the big screen and arrives at the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Here is Kubi’s trailer.

The teaser trailer for Kubi by Takeshi Kitano, in competition at Cannes

The film explores the ambitions, betrayals and destinies of various characters, including warlords, ninjas, traveling artists and farmers, and brings out the essence of Kitano’s world, including the intense violence and black humor. In this regard, the director shared in a press conference:

If possible, I hope this film is a success and I hope to be able to make more. When you think of period dramas, you tend to think of period dramas as historical dramas, but they’re all about good success stories, and they don’t portray the shady parts and jobs of people. I’ve done it. It took a lot of effort to complete it, but I think I was able to do it thanks to the staff and cast.

Kadokawa’s Natsuno Takeshi, who will distribute the film in Japan, said it was a similar size film to Seven Samurai and Kagemusha by Kadokawa. Akira Kurosawa, with a tragicomic quality that seems Shakespearean. The film is shaping up to be an extraordinary cinematic experience. Waiting to know if and when we will be able to see it in the West too, continue to follow our page dedicated to films and TV series.

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