Harmonium is divided in two halves: in the first we meet Toshio (Kanji Fu-rutachi), who runs a workshop under his home where he lives with his wife Akié (Mariko Tsutsui) and their lovely daughter Hotaru (Momone Shinokawa). When Yasaka (Tadanobu Asano) a friend from Toshio’s past, newly released from prison, arrives in their life, Toshio offers him a job. Slowly the close-knit family grows into a foursome, sharing meals and vacations, but this seemingly idyllic arrangement can’t last. The second half jumps some eight years after. As with Kōji Fukada’s most recent film Love Life, underlying tension and flaws in social and domestic harmony spiral out of control with the unexpected arrival of an outsider with a shared past. Significant narrative jumps, naturalistic performances, and elegant visual compositions reveal another brilliant, deeply harrowing, slow burn psychodrama.

Followed by a Q&A with director Kōji Fukada, hosted by critic John Maguire (Business Post).

Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard

Screening as part of the East Asia Film Festival Ireland (EAFFI) 2023.