The Scythian Lamb

• Movie: The Scythian Lamb (English title) / Sheep's Tree (literal title)
• Romaji: Hitsuji no Ki
• Japanese: 羊の木
• Director: Daihachi Yoshida
• Writer: Tatsuhiko Yamagami (manga), Mikio Igarashi (manga)
• Producer: Yoko Ide
• Cinematographer:
• World Premiere: October, 2017 (Busan IFF)
• Release Date: February 3, 2018
• Runtime: 126 min.
• Genre: Based on a Comic / Drama
• Distributor: Asmik Ace Entertainment
• Language: Japanese
• Country: Japan

Plot

6 strangers are set to move to the decaying port city of Uobuka and city employee Hajime Tsukisue (Ryo Nishikido) receives an order to assist them. Around this time, Fumi (Fumino Kimura), who graduated from the same high school as Hajime, comes back to Uobuka. Something seems amiss about the 6 strangers. They act uncomfortably and do not look normal.

Hajime learns more shocking details about the 6 strangers. These strangers are ex-prisoners who all committed murder. Due to a new parole system, the 6 prisoners are relocated to Uobuka. The residents are not supposed to know about their criminal backgrounds, but their lives begin to change due to the new residents.

Notes

1. Based on the manga series "Hitsuji no Ki" written by Tatsuhiko Yamagami & illustrated by Mikio Igarashi (published from 2011 to 2014 in bi-weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine Evening).
2. Filming begins October, 2016.

Cast

• Ryo Nishikido - Hajime Tsukisue
• Fumino Kimura - Fumi
• Kazuki Kitamura - Katsushi Sugiyama
• Yuka - Rieko Ota
• Mikako Ichikawa - Kiyomi Kurimoto
• Shingo Mizusawa - Hiroki Fukumoto
• Min Tanaka - Shigeru Ono
• Ryuhei Matsuda - Ichiro Miyakoshi
• Tamae Ando - Owner of Dry Cleaners