Japanese actor-director Takeshi Kitano says he wanted his new film “Kubi” to show the world of samurai in ways that mainstream movies have rarely done before, by portraying the homosexual, love-hate relationship of warlords in one of Japan’s best known historical episodes.

Takeshi Kitano’s new film, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival next month, is a samurai story without heroes, mercilessly portraying human greed, betrayal and cruelty.