is a 2016 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Kōji Fukada is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Tokyo, Fukada had a father who was a film aficionado and he watched many films on VHS when he was young. It was when he was 19 years old studying at Taisho University and disco ...

. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 Marc ...

where it won the Jury Prize.

Plot

Toshio (Furutachi), his wife Akie (Tsutsui), and their daughter Hotaru (Shinokawa) live a banal existence. Toshio operates a machine shop in his garage when suddenly an old acquaintance of Toshio's, Yasaka (Asano) arrives to help out at the shop. Hotaru practices the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

but is obviously a novice. Yasaka had just been released from prison and so without a permanent place to stay, Toshio takes him in as an assistant. Yasaka bonds with Hotaru, helping her with her music, and being helpful around the shop and house. Yasaka reveals to Akie that he was imprisoned for eleven years as a result of murder, asks for forgiveness for not mentioning this earlier, and slowly Yasaka becomes a greater part of the family. Yasaka and Akie have some romantic feelings for each other, and Toshio becomes suspicious as the family goes on a river trip. The movie also reveals that Yasaka is bitter about taking the blame for the murder, which Toshio participated in. Later when they return, when Toshio is out of the house, Yasaka oversteps his bounds trying to kiss Akie and she pushes him away. After this he goes for a walk and sees Hotaru. Later, Toshio finds Hotaru, injured and unresponsive, with Yasaka standing over her. Yasaka stands, shouting Toshio's name repeatedly, but Toshio does not respond as he is preoccupied with his daughter. Yasaka then walks off and disappears. Eight years later, Toshio hires a new assistant, Takashi (Taiga). Takashi was raised by a single mother and takes some interest in the now disabled and non-verbal Hotaru, sketching her. Akie has become extremely protective of her daughter. Takashi reveals separately to Toshio and Akie that he is the illegitimate son of Yasaka, that Yasaka was a member of the

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

, and that he wanted to be employed by Toshio based on letters Yasaka sent to his mother before he disappeared. After Takashi stands too close to Hotaru, Akie kicks him out of the house. Akie confronts Toshio about his involvement in the murder. Later, Toshio receives a tip on the location of Yasaka, and Akie and Toshio take Takashi to kill him in front of his father. Takashi offers himself willingly, which is rejected by the pair. The tip is only of someone who looks similar to Yasaka and having reached her breaking point, Akie takes Hotaru to a bridge, where she jumps (pulling Hotaru with her). The film ends with Toshio trying to resuscitate Hotaru.

Cast

Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in ''Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in ''Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Kenj ...

Mariko Tsutsui is a Japanese actress. Personal life Tsutsui graduated from Kōfu Daiichi High School in Yamanashi Prefecture. She dropped out of Aoyama Gakuin University. She later graduated from the Waseda University School of Social Sciences. As well as a ...

Kanji Furutachi is a Japanese actor. Career Born in Sakai, Osaka, Furutachi traveled to New York in his twenties to study acting at the HB Studio under Uta Hagen. Returning to Japan, he joined the Seinendan theatre troupe run by Oriza Hirata and the Sample the ...

Taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

Takahiro Miura is a Japanese actor. He graduated from Juntendo University Sports Health Science Department. He is represented with Anoré. His father is Tomokazu Miura who is also an actor, his mother is actress and former singer Momoe Yamaguchi , known by ...

* Momone Shinokawa

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmonium 2016 films 2016 drama films 2010s Japanese-language films Japanese drama films Films about dysfunctional families 2010s Japanese films