Bullying is an evergreen theme of Japanese films centered on teens, with the focus typically on the victims.

But in "Forgiven Children," Eisuke Naito’s clear-eyed, hard-hitting drama, a bullying incident results in a death that ruins the lives of the perpetrator and his family. Based on actual cases (which are not detailed on the film’s website), the film has the sort of subject matter that often lends itself to high-charged melodrama and an all-is-well ending.

True, tears flow and voices are raised, but there is also a legal, moral and psychological complexity that reflects the messiness of reality, in which storybook endings have no place.