``Harmonium'' The true face of a family revealed by strangers who enter the family *Note! Contains spoilers.

An outstanding production depicting the organ and faith

The film opens with the sound of a clumsy organ played by the daughter. By turning on the metronome, the daughter can barely keep up with the rhythm and keep the performance going smoothly. Eventually, the sound of the organ stops, and only the metronome's constant rhythm remains on the screen, and the title appears. This use of the organ as a symbol of everyday life is reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa's ``August Rhapsody,'' which began with an organ mixed with out-of-tune keys. Nagaharu Yodogawa explained that this was a metaphor for ``war.'' A deviation from the musical scale is a situation in which one's daily activities become disrupted. In ``Harmonium,'' the organ also foreshadows that the family that is about to be depicted maintains its peace through the monotonous rhythm of daily life.

In similar works such as those mentioned above, a person enters a home and causes confusion and fear in the family by acting unexpectedly and daringly or displaying suspicious behavior. However, Yasaka in this work does nothing. Yasaka calmly helps out at work and gradually confesses to his wife that he killed someone in the past and has been making amends for his crimes, but his wife, who is a Protestant, is impressed by Yasaka's sincere way of living despite his sins. He even started inviting her to church.

With the exception of propaganda films by religious groups, it is difficult to incorporate faith into Japanese films. It is not surprising considering the national character that celebrating Christmas and going to the New Year's shrine are national events. `` August Rhapsody '' features an impressive image of old men chanting the Heart Sutra, but it does not delve into religious beliefs. This film exposes the Japanese people and their faith through a disaster that befalls a family.

Yasaka maintains a clean image symbolized by his white shirt with the buttons buttoned all the way to the top. , but this clothes also doesn't have a single stain on it. He behaves like a saint, but when he is alone with Toshio, there is a moment when he complains that he was the only one who went to prison and Toshio peacefully started a family. However, his face instantly changes back to that of a saint and says that he was just joking. Tadanobu Asano's on-and-off acting in this scene, as if switching between devil and angel, is wonderful. It is at moments like these that the combination of Kanji Furudate and Mariko Tsutsui, precise actors from the theater field, and Asano, who has the explosive power unique to the film field, becomes effective.

“Harmonium”Ⓒ2016 Movie “Harmonium” Production Committee/COMME DES CINEMAS

Yasaka, who was wearing the skin of an angel, takes off the upper half of her white work clothes, as if peeling off a mask, revealing a red shirt from inside. Then, before an organ recital, she approaches her daughter, who is wearing a red dress that her mother had worked hard to repair all night, and hurts her. One can imagine what Yasaka did to the girl who lay motionless and bleeding from the head, but there is no direct description and the details are unclear. However, the main focus is on Toshio and his wife's panicked reactions rather than direct depictions. As Yasaka walks away from the couple with no expression on his face, he begins to look less like a devil and more like a god putting a test on the couple.

What those who looked into the abyss saw