The Horse Boy (2009)

A humble page fathers a child by the daughter of a clan official and is banished. Years later, the child, now a stable boy, is reunited with his father, but feudal codes threaten their happiness. Uchidas poignant masterpiece condemns the inflexible class system and launches an indictment of values that favor symbolic objects over human life. The films focus is on character rather than swordplay, and charged performancesespecially child actor Motoharu Uekiadd to the emotional power.