What happens when those charged with taking life begin to cherish it? From award-winning filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Hana deconstructs the legend of the samurai with a delicate mix of laughter and emotion.

The year is 1702. Peace has settled over the squalor of Edo and the swords of the once mighty samurai have been sheathed across Japan. In an era when dogs are more esteemed than the colorful peasants that inhabit the slums, Soza, a young warrior better with books than blades, is on a quest to avenge his murdered father and restore honor to his family name. As the blood debt looms, sensitive Soza must decide – To kill or not to kill? Amidst growing love, shattered honor and the simple beauty of the cherry blossom… Hana celebrates the joys of even the most difficult of lives.