“There was nothing — it was empty,” says one of the characters in “Haruhara-san’s Recorder” after watching a piece of minimalist performance art. “A fresh experience,” her companion concurs.
The same could be said of this spare, subtly resonant drama by Kyoshi Sugita. The director’s third feature drew strong reviews on the festival circuit last year, though it’s a film so delicate that I’m reluctant to burden it with too much praise, for fear its fragile beauty might collapse.
Very little happens, in a dramatic sense, and what does is painted in the lightest of brushstrokes.
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