Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

During feudal times in Japan, before an honorable governor is exiled to a far away land, he urges his son to always be merciful to others. Years later, after the governor’s two children are sold into slavery and his wife into prostitution, his son finds it hard to remember his father’s lesson. The film offers a heartbreakingly harsh view of reality, offered hands are few and they are more likely to hurt than help. As a bit of a morality tale, it does offer some hope for redemption in the end.