Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ‘Wife of a Spy’ Picked up by Nikkatsu (EXCLUSIVE)

By Patrick Frater

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the Japanese director of “Cure,” “Pulse” and “Bright Future,” is now in post-production on period suspense romance “Wife of a Spy.” The film is being pitched at the European Film Market by sales and production firm Nikkatsu.

The film reteams “Romance Doll” stars Yu Aoi (“Hula Girls,” “Hana and Alice”) and Issey Takahashi (“Kill Bill,” “Shin Godzilla”).

The 1940-set plot involves a Japanese merchant who leaves his wife behind in order to travel to Manchuria, where he witnesses an act of barbarism. His subsequent actions cause misunderstanding, jealousy and legal problems for his wife. The screenplay is by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Tadashi Nohara and Kurosawa, who previously penned the script for Kurosawa’s “Happy Hour.”

The film is set for theatrical release later this year, probably after getting some festival play. Rights have already been pre-sold to Arthouse Films for France.

“Wife of a Spy” follows Kurosawa’s coolly received “To the Ends of the Earth,” a drama about a Japanese TV reporter whose eyes are opened during a trip to Uzbekistan. “Earth” was one of a small but growing number of Japanese indie films that are taking the co-production route.