Sansho the Bailiff

Without mercy, man is like a beast.

A profound meditation on cruelty, compassion, and moral redemption set against the brutality of feudal servitude, where separated family members must navigate systems designed to strip away their humanity.

In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.