Sanchû Uprising Voices at Dawn

1726 Sanchu Okayama Prefecture farmers negotiate with the feudal domain in order to seek exemption from rising taxes Infighting leads to suppression by the samurai class and the farmers band together for battle Its a moment of injustice setting the stage for bravery and sacrifice However those daring characters remain largely offscreen in Juichiro Yamasakis brilliant film Instead the cowardly protagonist Jihei Naohisa Nakagaki faces a crisis of the risks of rebellion and its aftermath that resonates with our contemporary moment In this rare independent jidaigeki Kenta Tawaras beautiful digital BW photography channels and refigures luminaries of classical Japanese cinema boasting rapturous animated sequences by Tomomichi Nakamura and experimental score by Ayako Sasaki