Shochiku proudly unveiled its newest official trailer this week for Iwane: Sword of Serenity (a.k.a. Inemuri Iwane), which hits Japan screens on May 17, and of course, the continuing theme as with prior promo footage is the dramatic shift in tone. It feels comedic at first but things get pretty morose and serious by the end. I reckon anyone familiar with Saeki Yasuhide’s Futaba Bunko novel series and its three-volume NHK TV series follow-up might know what that’s about but, …oh well.
Iwane Sakazaki has two childhood friends: Kinpei Kobayashi and Shinnosuke Kawade. They received training at the same dojo. Kinpei Kobayashi’s younger sister Mai is married to Shinnosuke Kawade. Also Iwane will marry Nao who is the younger sister of Kinpei Kobayashi and Mai. The three friends are like brothers. Shinnosuke then hears a rumor that his wife Mai is having an affair and he kills her. Kinpei becomes enraged that his younger sister is murdered and kills Shinnosuke. To punish Kinpei, Iwane is ordered to kill his friend.
Motoki Katsuhide directs from a script by Fujimoto Yuki, and for a cast that features Matsuzaka Tori (The Blood Of Wolves, Sanada 10 Braves) along with Emoto Tasuku, Sugino Yosuke, Yoshine Kyoko and Miyashita Kanako among the roster. That we now have an English title for this making the rounds now is a much-needed plus, so bookmark this one for all your future notes to refer to with film market updates pending.
