Ryusuke Hamaguchi is an ambitious filmmaker. The Japanese writer/director’s filmography is filled with what may appear to be small dramas, but their runtimes can stretch to epic lengths – challenging for those with short attention spans.
International recognition first came his way with his 2015 film Happy Hour, a film about four thirtysomething women, that runs for a mammoth five-and-a-quarter hours. Only slightly shorter is the film he is most acclaimed for, Drive My Car, a three-hour meditation on grief that received the Best Screenplay award at Cannes Film Festival, nominations in several categories at the 2022 Academy Awards and the Academy Award for Best International Feature.
During the long production process for Drive My Car, Hamaguchi also made Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy, a triptych of films that are significantly shorter than his highly regarded feature-length films. Despite their reduced length and smaller nature, the short films explore the same themes and concerns as the rest of his filmography, making it the perfect introduction to his work.
Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy features three short films averaging 35–40 minutes, each sharing the theme of the magic of coincidences (the film’s Japanese title is Gūzen to Sōzō, which translates to Coincidence And Imagination).
Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Source: Ryogo-Shioda
“[In] dealing with coincidences as a subject, I’m also dealing with desires,” Hamaguchi tells . “I think it’s really important that the characters want something. They’re planning something. I think that desire allows for coincidence to feel real and become reality within the stories. And the failure of those plans appears only when the truth appears… Coincidence is what makes these desires almost fail.”
The idea for an anthology of short films came to Hamaguchi when a screening of his film Asako I & II (which is streaming now ) in France led to an interview with Mary Stephen, a film editor who worked with French New Wave director Eric Rohmer. According to Stephen, Rohmer saw short films as a great way of developing his filmmaking skills, as displayed in Rendezvous In Paris, a trio of short films dealing in love and coincidences made when the director was in his 70s. This particular film proved for Hamaguchi when he began developing the stories that would become Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy.
Along with inspiration, Hamaguchi had time to develop his film. He had just sent a letter to the iconic Japanese author expressing his interest in adapting his short story Drive My Car. As he patiently waited for a reply, he began writing his short films.
The first story in ‘Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy’: ‘Magic (Or Something Less Assuring)’, starring Kotone Furukawa and Ayumu Nakajima. Source: NEOPA/Fictive
“When you shoot a long film, there’s a pressure to not make a mistake,” he tells . “I’m actually learning a lot by making these shorts, so it’s become an important way for me to improve my own skills.”
The film’s first story, Magic (Or Something Less Assuring), follows a model named Meiko (Kotone Furukawa) who realises that her friend Tsugumi’s (Hyunri) new love interest is her ex-boyfriend, Kazuaki (Ayumu Nakajima). The conversation occurs late at night in the back of a taxi, much like those in Drive My Car, which Hamaguchi was in preparation for a standout scene in the latter. Keeping her realisation from Tsugumi, Meiko confides in the only person she can talk to about this situation: Kazuaki.
Haruki Murakami’s sometimes style of eroticism influences the second story in the triptych, Door Wide Open. Young college student Sasaki (Shouma Kai) fails a class before graduating, blaming his professor Segawa (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) for his humiliation. He convinces his married lover Nao (Katsuki Mori) to seduce Segawa as part of a honey trap and ruin his reputation. Nao’s method of seduction is reading to Segawa from his book, for which he recently won an award.
Kiyohiko Shibukawa and Katsuki Mori in ‘Door Wide Open’, the second story of the anthology. Source: NEOPA/Fictive
All three shorts were written in early 2019, with the first two shot with small casts and crews in late 2019. Plans were in place to shoot the final story after what was expected to be a long production for Drive My Car, only for the latter to be shut down a week into production as COVID overtook the world. During the lockdown, Hamaguchi used his free time to rework the third short for Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy. Once some restrictions were lifted, Hamaguchi was able to gather his small cast and crew together to film the final story to shake off the cobwebs before returning to the feature-length film.
Once Again opens with crawling text explaining a different kind of virus that has affected the world in the story. A computer virus has led to the leaking of everyone’s data, leading to the world operating offline and a return to a heavy reliance on postal services – a plot point by the world’s reliance on technology to stay connected during lockdown.
Fusako Urabe and Aoba Kawai in the third and final story, ‘Once Again’. Source: NEOPA/Fictive
Unemployed IT worker Natsuko (Fusako Urabe) attends her high school reunion in the hopes of reconnecting with a long-lost friend. After a disappointing night, she bumps into her friend (Aoba Kawai), or so she thinks. It’s an element similar to Hamaguchi’s previous film, Asako I & II. However, where the previous film found drama in the scenario, the short film provides lightness, displaying a humorous touch with an escalator chase, and the two lead characters achieving a fulfilling resolution.
While the independently produced Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy may seem to live in the shadows of Drive My Car, that doesn’t make this a lesser film. What viewers will find is a director who can infuse humanity into his stories, whether they be epic in length or small wonders.
Watch 'Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy'
Monday 27 March, 11:45pm on SBS World Movies / Now streaming at SBS On Demand
M
Japan, 2021
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: Japanese
Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Starring: Kotone Furukawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Katsuki Mori
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