_ Harmonie_

There's something mysterious about the subjectivity of things that resonate with us. Years of accumulated experiences all meticulously build a worldview that can only be called unique, despite over 8 billion others sharing the same base experience of life with us. Thus, when something comes along that strikes a chord with some obscure part of our unique life experience, we don't always even understand why.

When I first watched this short, 25-minute "film" years ago, that was the feeling I was left with. As the final note of the gorgeous ending sequence faded away, I had the strange feeling that I had heard it all in a dream years ago, when I was still just a child... Like I had rediscovered a foundational truth that had been lost along the path of life. To this day, I can't explain why Harmonie gave me that feeling, but it is one that I've cherished for a long time now.

Since this is a review, I should probably actually discuss the subject of said review: Harmonie is, by all accounts, nothing terribly special. It is a short film that almost entirely follows the school-day interactions of a painfully-average boy and the pretty girl he is crushing on. Those with shorter attention spans might even consider the slow, slice-of-life format to be a drag. I'll even admit: after re-watching it recently, I didn't find the majority of it as captivating as I did years ago. I'm not even sure why that is...

But perhaps that only adds to the message of this film. The theme of this story is human connection, and how seemingly-insignificant moments can sometimes connect people who otherwise would have nothing to do with each other. Those moments are ephemeral, and who knows how many of them slip by unnoticed in our day-to-day lives. When I first stumbled across this film almost a decade ago, the moment was just right to make an impact on me. Now, that moment is likely gone forever, another memory to be filed away, like a faded picture in an old album that may never be opened again. But something about that is almost priceless in itself, isn't it?

I've purposely avoiding saying too much about the fine details of this film, since I don't want to create too much of an expectation for those that might watch it. Part of the joy of media is stumbling upon those little moments that connect with you deeply. Will this film do that? Who knows. But I can safely say this, even after all these years: when the final scene comes to an end, as the main characters stare at each other in surprise—confusion—in awe of the serendipitous truth they've stumbled upon... As the painfully-beautiful ED sequence begins to play, like something out of a long-lost childhood dream...

In that moment, real human connection doesn't feel so out of reach. In fact, it feels perfectly natural.