Harmony

Harmony takes place in a future where medical technology has advanced to the point where humanity has achieved a kind of artificial utopia. People's emotions and even their health are tightly controlled to ensure peace and harmony in society. The premise has the potential to explore deep philosophical questions about freedom, control, and the nature of happiness. Unfortunately, the film doesn't live up to its potential. The pacing is incredibly slow, and much of the dialogue is filled with dense, philosophical ramblings that don't translate into meaningful action or character development.

The protagonist, Tuan, is supposed to be a rebel in this overly controlled society, but her motivations are underdeveloped, making it difficult to connect with her journey. Supporting characters feel one-dimensional, existing only to push the plot forward without adding any real depth to the story. While Harmony tries to explore the ethical implications of a perfectly controlled society, it lacks the emotional core needed to make the audience care about these issues. The film is visually pleasing, with sleek, futuristic designs, but the lack of dynamic storytelling and character engagement turns what could have been a thought-provoking movie into a tedious experience.

You'll be watching this mostly for the writing, which is unrealistic in important aspects, but it actually wraps itself up very well. I get what the author's trying to do, but everyone acting retarded breaks suspension of disbelief. The weakest link are the visuals; many environments look sterile and uninspiring despite the sense of grandeur that's intended, in particular during nature shots and high-tech cities. The streets of Baghdad are an ironic exception. There's a lot of 3D animation, which is sometimes okay, but very often isn't; as usual, 2D animators seem to forget everything they know about direction when they try doing 3D, and the result is awkward at best. I probably enjoyed this more than I should have. Peter Watts' Echopraxia goes well with the film's themes (also Blindsight, but less directly).

This movie is beautiful to watch. While the story is simple the underlying philosophy is not and the story flows well. This movie is mainly dialog and philosophy with only a few action scenes. The plot keeps you guessing and it attempt to subvert most common tropes, leaving you wondering who the good and bad guys are. I found the ending disappointing. While it had a great twist, it felt unsatisfying, however I notice the other ITOH movies are similar. I suspect the attempt is to subvert our common expectation of an ending, which it does well, but leaves us with an unsatisfying feeling. While not a classic, such as Ghost in the Shell, its well worth a watch.