Overview

• The thriller opens in French cinemas on Wednesday, September 3, with a 1h52 runtime and a cast led by Damien Bonnard, with Mathieu Amalric and Kô Shibasaki.
• Kurosawa revisits his 1998 film by relocating the story to France and replacing yakuza elements with a clandestine society known as the Cercle.
• The plot follows a grieving father, guided by a psychologist, who targets an occult network after the discovery of an 8-year-old victim in the Forêt de Sénart.
• Critics highlight the director’s mastery of suspense and mise en scène, citing a mysterious, paranoid atmosphere achieved with restrained means.
• Some reviewers fault a “cheap” visual look and uneven performances, framing the film as an intriguing hybrid, while Bonnard says he slept as little as 1.5 to 3 hours nightly to inhabit the role.