Parêdo (Parade)

Young people unwittingly allow a stranger into their home in this drama from filmmaker Isao Yukisada. Four people in their early twenties are sharing a small house in Tokyo -- self-centered student Ryosuke (Keisuke Koide), struggling and chain-smoking artist Mirai (Karina), small time businessman and fitness buff Naoki (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and aspiring actress Kotomi (Shihori Kanjiya). While they live together, the four people aren't especially good friends, and they each travel in their own orbit. One day, a fifth roommate moves in, Satoru (Kento Hayashi), but it takes a few days before they realize no one knows who he is. Pressed to explain his presence, Satoru says he was invited to stay by Mirai, who met him at a bar she frequents, though she was drunk enough at the time to have no memory of the incident. It turns out that Satoru had been living on the streets and was making a living as a male prostitute when he met Mirai, and the roommates allow him to stay, but they aren't certain how they feel about him. When reports appear in the news about a serial killer who has been at work in the neighborhood, some of Satoru's new roommates wonder among themselves if they've invited a murderer into their home. Paredo (aka Parade) was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi