The Lone Ume Tree(2021)

The Lone Ume Tree is a Japanese drama about a fortune teller forced to confront her deepest fears. Tamako has raised her son Tadao alone in an aging house surrounded by modern development, shielding him from a world that doesn't understand his autism and intellectual disability. When a group home becomes available, Tamako sees an opportunity for Tadao to gain independence and escape their neighbors' judgment. She arranges his move, hoping he'll thrive among peers facing similar challenges. But Tadao's disorientation in his new environment tests both his resilience and Tamako's resolve to let him go. The film explores the painful tension between a parent's protective instinct and a child's need to build his own life, set against the backdrop of a community caught between tradition and progress.