Japanuary:
Dir. Masaki Kobayashi, 1964, Japan, Japanese with English subtitles, 132 mins, Cert: 15
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Tue 27 January // 19:30
Tickets: £5
Japanuary is back! We're serving up New Year helping of Japanese cinematic treats, from a golden age classic to a 90s Palme d'Or winner, via a brilliant kaiju movie and a stunning samurai film. Get tickets to all the films here.
A mysterious stranger undertakes to destroy a feudal lord who committed an unspeakable wrong in this astonishing samurai classic - considered by some to be a dark-horse candidate for the greatest Japanese film of all time.
Of all Masaki Kobayashi’s attacks on the cruelty and inhumanity perpetrated by authoritarian power (including The Human Condition and Samurai Rebellion), perhaps none are more brilliant than his visceral, mesmerising Harakiri.
In a magnificent performance, Tatsuya Nakadai (Yojimbo, The Face of Another, Ran) stars as Hanshiro Tsugumo, a masterless samurai (rōnin) who enters the manor of Lord Iyi, requesting to commit ritual suicide on his property. Suspected of simply fishing for charity, Hanshiro is told the gruesome tale of the last rōnin who made the same request. But there's more to Hanshiro's story than he's letting on...
With its intricate structure and pressure-cooker atmosphere, Kobayashi’s film is a full-scale demolition job of samurai ideals and feudal hypocrisy, filmed with artistry and surgical precision, and scored by celebrated composer Toru Takemitsu.
Doors open 30 minutes before advertised start time. All film screenings are ad-free and 18+ unless otherwise stated, and start with no more than a 10 min selection of trailers.
The Cube is a membership venue, please remember to bring your card. You can join on the door for £1.