A BALANCE
While documenting a controversial tragedy that shook her community, a filmmaker must put her morals to the test when a perverse secret in her own life is revealed.
In a sharp and understated performance, Kumi Takiuchi shines as Yuko, a documentarian whose only goal is to seek out and capture objective truth, no matter the cost. Her current project is covering a contentious affair between a local student and a teacher, which resulted in both of their suicides. As Yuko attempts to string together the broken fragments of the story, she must delicately interview subjects who are too afraid to speak, while combating imposed censorship by the TV station’s production team. When she’s not behind a camera, Yuko teaches at a private cram school run by her father Masashi (Ken Mitsuishi). After noticing that shy new girl Mei (Yuumi Kawai) is struggling to keep up with her lessons, Yuko takes a special interest in helping her both in school and in her chaotic home life. But when Mei reveals a dark and devastating secret, Yuko is pulled into a confounding web of deceit where she must balance doing what is right with trying to help those closest to her. Written, directed, and edited by Yujiro Harumoto, A BALANCE is a fascinating study of morals and truth, told with thoughtful tenderness and brilliant restraint.
CAST: Kumi Takiuchi, Ken Mitsuishi, Masahiro Umeda, Yumi Kawai
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