Kagemusha

[Original Title: Kagemusha]
Director Akira Kurosawa follows the tale of a petty thief recruited to impersonate an aging warlord who later dies forcing his generals to allow the impostor to assume permanently the rulers identity even to the point of leading troops into battle. Sumptuously reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and the pageantry of war, Kurosawa creates a historical epic that is also a meditation on the nature of power however it can feel overlong at 3 hours allowing the audience to get disconnected from the narrative.
It was nominated for 2 Academy Awards.