Set on the sun-drenched southern coast of Iran, from which director Amir Naderi hails, "Harmonica" begins as a young boy receives a musical present from abroad. Fascinated and envious, his friends make him the leader of the pack, as they compete for the privilege of holding the harmonica or even blowing a few notes. No one is more obsessed than Amiroo, gentle and heavy-set, who seems willing to do anything to get close to the harmonica and its owner. Few films have more powerfully depicted the cruelty that is also part of childhood, as games and horseplay take on an increasingly sinister edge.

wolong