Samurai Marathon

Samurai Marathon is a 2019 Japanese-British historical action adventure film co-written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Takeru Satoh, Nana Komatsu and Mirai Moriyama. It is based on the 2014 novel The Marathon Samurai: Five Tales of Japan’s First Marathon by Akihiro Dobashi, itself inspired by the origin story of the Ansei Toashi 30-km footrace held annually in Annaka City.

Plot summary

In 1855, a daimyo sends his men on a grueling marathon to discover if they're tough enough to face the newly arrived Americans. Misunderstanding his intent, the Shogun dispatches assassins.

Cast

Takeru Satoh as Karasawa Jinnai
Nana Komatsu as Princess Yuki
Mirai Moriyama as Tsujimura Heikurō
Shōta Sometani as Uesugi Hironoshin
Munetaka Aoki as Ueki Yoshikuni
Ryu Kohata
Yuta Koseki
Motoki Fukami
Shinsuke Katō
Joey Iwanaga
Ruka Wakabayashi
Mariko Tsutsui
Mugi Kadowaki
Nao
Junko Abe
Taishi Nakagawa
Naoto Takenaka as Kurita Mataemon
Danny Huston as Commodore Perry
Etsushi Toyokawa as Ioki Suketora
Hiroki Hasegawa as Itakura Katsuakira

Release

The film was released in theaters in Japan in February 2019. It was later featured at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2019. Well Go USA Entertainment acquired North American distribution rights to the film in July 2019. The film was released on VOD and digital platforms in May 2020. It was also released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United States on July 21, 2020.

Reception

The film has rating on Rotten Tomatoes. James Hadfield of The Japan Times awarded the film three stars out of five.