Harmonium

A disturbing drama of guilt, justice, and vengeance, Harmonium stars Tadanobu Asano as Yasaka, a convicted killer just out of prison who goes to an old friend named Toshio (Kanji Furutachi) for help. Toshio gives him a job and a room in his family home but keeps his past hidden from his wife and daughter. Yasaka is out of place in the family rhythm but his rehabilitation seems sincere…until viewers discover that Toshio was his accomplice in the murder and abandoned him. Yasaka is an unnerving presence, dressed neatly in black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt buttoned up to the collar, who stands or sits with a severe, formal stiffness and a blank expression. Filmmaker Kôjï Fukada rolls the plot out slowly, creating an insidious tranquility where chaos seems to lurk under the calm surface of normalcy. A quietly unnerving thriller built on the damage caused by secrets, betrayals, and resentment—one that suggests the psychology of a Patricia Highsmith novel with a Japanese sensibility—this subtle film is recommended. (S. Axmaker)