The Harvard Film Archive welcomes back Happy Hour director Ryusuke Hamaguchi (b. 1978) for a screening of three earlier works that showcase the filmmaker’s fascination with the performative and theatrical dimensions of cinema and everyday life. In Hamaguchi’s hands, the figures of the photographer’s model, stage actor and dancer central to The Depths, Intimacies and Touching the Skin of Eeriness each offer alternate perspectives onto that subtle intertwining of performance and presence that is the mysterious quintessence of screen acting. Whether working with professional actors such as Hoshi Ishida or the first-time actresses and students in Happy Hour and Intimacies, Hamaguchi similarly achieves a gentle understatement of tone and meaning that gives rich nuance to his subtle yet deeply emotional screen dramas.