
A family of three, comprised of a husband, wife and a young daughter, lead a routine and unspectacular life. The stillness is shattered occasionally by the young girl's practice on the harmonium and more unusually by the arrival of an acquaintance of the man. Apparently seeking to repay a debt and make up for lost time the new arrival is soon both a guest at the family home and an employee of their workshop. All hell breaks loose and no one is chaste.... (Full plot summary below)
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A family of three, comprised of a husband, wife and a young daughter, lead a routine and unspectacular life. The stillness is shattered occasionally by the young girl's practice on the harmonium and more unusually by the arrival of an acquaintance of the man. Apparently seeking to repay a debt and make up for lost time the new arrival is soon both a guest at the family home and an employee of their workshop. All hell breaks loose and no one is chaste.
Leave your thoughts about Harmonium.
| Dog and WolfAlexa DalbyIt's a disturbing, dark, heartbreaking drama with merciless twists that give no easy answers to complex questions of forgiveness and redemption, and how relationships may be based on truth or lies. |
| Japan TimesMark SchillingUnlike the many family dramas here that color even their ostensible bad guys in shades of gray, Harmonium goes straight to the heart of evil, which is stronger than Fumie's uncertain version of Christian love. |
| Chicago ReaderBen SachsTadanobu Asano, who plays the ex-con, has rarely been better, and Kanji Furutachi and Mariko Tsutsui are heartbreaking as the husband and wife. |
| Eye for FilmJennie KermodeWith strong performances from Tsutsui and Asano, impressive work from young Shinokawa and a sweetly judged turn from Taiga as a young man who gets caught up in the unfolding drama through an accident of fate, this is a beautifully crafted film. |
| South China Morning PostEdmund LeeFukada's film sidesteps easy catharsis to stage a serious, and quite emotionally intense, inquiry into the unknown shades of human nature. |
| The ListHannah McGillShowing tremendous assurance, writer-director Kôji Fukada deploys an attention-grabbing narrative structure that involves a daring leap part-way through. |
| CineVueChristopher MachellA deeply affecting narrative of guilt, consequence and failed redemption. |
| Daily Express (UK)Allan HunterThe answers take their time to arrive but the result is an absorbing thriller. |
| Radio TimesDavid ParkinsonThe performances are chillingly restrained, as is Fukada's forensic direction - his use of natural light makes the sombre wood-panelled interiors feel all the more oppressive as the jarring cacophony of the harmonium echoes all around. |
| San Diego ReaderScott MarksIs there anything more gratifying than a sweepingly downcast story told in a uniquely exhilarating manner? |