When the samurai Shinhachi returns home after three years of service in the capital, his clan is under threat. There is an uprising and his fiancée Chigusa is now the lord's geisha. From then on, Shinhachi is suspected of having betrayed the head of the clan out of revenge, even though he is loyal to the point of self-sacrifice and resists all scheming demands. A period drama that combines betrayal and conspiracy within a samurai clan with breathtaking images of nature, skilfully choreographed battle scenes and a tragic love story. With the figure of the lone samurai, Castle of Wind and Clouds anticipates many motifs of later samurai film classics (and their western remakes). (Silent Film Festival Bonn, 2023)