Harmonium

The movie "Harmonium" has a beautiful plot and tells the story of how a harmonious traditional Japanese family is broken by the actions of the past. The director and writer Kôji Fukada leaves the story open for the spectator to decide and assume plot events, i.e. Was it a case of revenge?, what did really happen to the daughter? The ending seems a bit easy escape to complete the cycle, it should be more creative and better thought.

The fine treatment of the direction and the perfect performances of the actors make this film another great surprise from the current Japanese cinema. Highly recommended.

This is the second film Kôji Fukada has made about a stranger insinuating himself into a seemingly calm family. The stranger first starts working for the family in their home business, then he moves in to their home, and then ties between the stranger and the family are revealed and exploited. Kanji Furutachi played the stranger in the first one, *Hospitalité*. He plays the family man in this one. I like this one better.

Any time one of a character's introductory scenes consists of bad eating-acting you have the most simplistic of character definitions: the character is an idiot, with a bad moon rising. Both the family man and the stranger are introduced this way. They both turn out bad. No surprise. The first act of this film is full of bad indie nonsense, but after the lame setup material is out of the way, including Asano's snorefest of a background story speech that sets things in motion, the film finds it rhythm. And it's frighteningly good. And only then does it become unpredictable. There's a character swap about halfway through, and trying to figure out the relationship and motivations really put me on edge. The second half of the film is walking on razor blades.

Asano has pretty much jumped the shark, imo. He's played this character a hundred times. I don't think he does anything special here, but he's not bad. Kanji Furutachi is a good creep. In the first act he tries to act like a creep and fails. In the second half he becomes a creep and is awesome. But the star of this film is Mariko Tsutsui as the wife. Her face is hard-coded for WTF sadness. She does the Japanese thing of remaining calm in the face of super-WTF-ness, wonderfully. There are several big moments, impact moments, in the film where if I were her my head would have exploded. I had no idea how she would react. She's fantastic. The opposite of acting. She looks like she's processing the information given to her for the first time--not like she's acting the part of processing information. Bravo! When you see what happens to the kid it's funny, sad, super weird and then some. It remains understated which doubles the funny, sad, super weird and then some of it.

I have no idea what the ending says. It felt abstract and lame but didn't spoil things for me. I highly recommend the film to those who aren't bothered by bad eating-acting, or may not notice bad indie cliché scenes, and to those who are forgiving of bad script writing and acting during a film's setup phase.

I don't write many reviews, but when I do, they're short and to the point.

I don't consider myself a "film aficionado", and I'm certainly not an expert. I'm merely going to give a review of a normal, working class guy with a slightly above-average IQ.

I've seen many Japanese and Korean films, and so I am used to the slow pace of the movie. For those who don't know, picture 60 seconds of watching a family eating a meal while not saying a word.

With that said, I feel that it was too similar to other movies of the genre, and to me it was predictable. I knew what was coming around the corner. While I wasn't really amazed that my predictions came true, I was amazed that my predictions came true within 30 seconds of my making them. Just ask my wife -- she can't stand watching movies with me.

While a typical American movie watcher who only watches junk that comes out of Hollywood (a movie based on video games, comic books, or a remake of something from 30 years ago) might have been shocked by some of the things that happen, I think someone who indulges in Asian films will also see what's coming, and where things are going.

While, as another reviewer mentioned, the ending leaves you scratching your head and screaming, I was a little lost about the ending. I won't go into details, but I'll just say that I didn't understand the turn of events, and wonder if it is even physically possible for the movie to have ended that way.

All in all, very good acting, and was pretty enjoyable, but if you're looking for a feel-good movie, don't watch this one.

Wow, major downer!

This is not really a film to sit down and watch if you have other important things to do or want to have a good time; the pacing is typical Japanese/foreign slow-paced style where they have scenes of just showing a family eating dinner/playing the harmonium, etc.

However, if you are able to tolerate that kind of pacing, especially the first half, you are in for a major emotional downer. The movie really takes a sudden turn that it feels like a completely different movie.

If you invested in the first half, you will definitely want to know what's going to happen.

Unfortunately, it's one of those abrupt, somewhat unsatisfying endings that make you shout "OH, COME ON!!!!!" where it leaves you hanging way too much, almost a cop-out, and really makes you wanting and needing more; you start drawing all kinds of conclusions and interpretations because it leaves you with many unsolved questions that will bug the hell out of you just like the characters are feeling. It will probably leave you with a lot of frustrations, shock, or depression. The movie almost feels unfinished.

There is some religious theme and imagery going on with this film.

Although we've already seen "the creepy/odd/mysterious neighbor/stranger/former buddy" entering another sweet family type of movie plot many times before - and we all know how that usually ends up - this film adds some unique elements to it that feels more raw and full of sympathy. It really makes you think about the consequences and emotional realism outcome that each and every character must feel.

The acting is great by all the cast. You just feel so bad and shocked like what the hell are you doing?!?!!

Again, this is definitely NOT an uplifting film. It's a pretty heavy movie that will certainly make you shake your head.

The principal flaw of Harmonium directed by Kôji Fukada may be its length. At more than two hours the film is by 20 to 30 minutes longer than the standard, and the extra time is not necessarily best used. Yet, this stylish combination between family drama, thriller and crime story has enough interesting elements in the story, and is so well acted and filmed that it eventually justifies itself and needs not make too many excuses.

We can admire from opening scenes the mastering of the art of describing the characters and the background with very little means, in a few beautifully filmed takes, with even fewer words. We see a family in Tokyo working hard for their living. The father has a metal shop and seems to be an agnostic. The mother is deeply religious and she drives the education of their daughter around ten years old, who tries to learn playing the harmonium. A stranger shows up, he is well mannered, accepted by the father and then by the rest of the family. There are secrets in the relation between the two men, and these secrets of the past will take over the situations that follow.

There are two different parts in the story separated by a jump in time which is one of the several techniques of story telling that are being experimented and combined in a well dosed mix. The story telling is built in a very interesting manner. Two acts of violence happen out of the screen, and viewers as well as most of the characters do not know exactly what happened. The first took place eleven year before the story starts. The second wraps up the first part and triggers the events of the second part, with another gap of eight years. None of them is represented on the screen, the story is not about violence but about its consequences. The final is also open ended, we see what happens, but the interpretation is left to the viewers.

I liked more the first part, with its more constraint setting and only with the four characters present on the screen. The development is necessary in the logic of commercial film making nowadays, the jumps and gaps are intentional, but they lack balance. There is wonderful acting from Mariko Tsutsui in the role of the dedicated mother but also of the feminine presence that triggers passion, and from Tadanobu Asano as the dignified and yet mysterious stranger. This film is not flawless, it lasts too long and its changes of direction may not be on everybody's taste, but it's a good example about how the Japanese school of cinema continues its great aesthetic tradition, how it combines it with the popular culture genres (like thriller and horror stories) and how it looks carefully to new means of expression in an evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach.