This fascinating Wheel of Fortune has nothing to do with game shows

It’s rare to discover an anthology film of recent vintage that isn’t a horror/sci-fi movie. But perhaps the finest example of a portmanteau picture of the last several years that isn’t fantastical or frightening is Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and released in 2021. This work weaves together three unrelated short stories that delve into themes of chance, coincidence, and the complexities of human relationships. In "Magic (or Something Less Assuring)," a model named Meiko discovers her best friend is falling in love with her ex-boyfriend, sparking a tense confrontation. "Door Wide Open" follows a student who manipulates his older lover into seducing a professor for revenge, leading to unexpected outcomes. The final story, "Once Again," explores a chance meeting between two women who believe they share a past connection, only to uncover a poignant misunderstanding. The cast includes standout performances by Kotone Furukawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Katsuki Mori, Shouma Kai, Fusako Urabe, and Aoba Kawai.

Click here to listen to a recording of our CineVerse group discussion of Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, conducted last week.

This is a rare modern example of a triptych featuring three stories. But unlike some other anthology films (such as, for example, Dead of Night, Twilight Zone The Movie, Sin City, or Amores Perros), these tales don’t have interconnecting characters or overlapping narratives. Each tale, while relatively short (about 40 minutes) and thin on plot, is far from predictable or uninteresting. The absorbing dialogue, well-drawn characters, and the situations the characters find themselves in provide plenty for viewers to appreciate.

Hamaguchi tests our patience by lingering long on singular shots and extended scenes, such as in the back of the taxi in the first chapter, or shots of Nao talking to Negawa in part two, or the leisurely pacing of Moka and Nana’s discourse in her home in the third episode. But because the filmmaker continues to intrigue with fascinating verbal exchanges and compelling story twists, the visuals don’t become static or monotonous. The film’s high craftsmanship is self-evident.

“In all three stories, Hamaguchi is spinning a web of uncertainty for his characters and for his audience,” posits Vox reviewer Anissa Wilkinson. “The women at the center of each story feel out of place, alienated from their families and desires and the people around them. Meiko keeps a secret from Tsugumi, but she’s also aching for a love she once had and rejected. Nao has tried every life path available to her and found ways to live without commitment, but an encounter with a man who knows who he is undoes her. And Natsuko, hunting for the only happiness she’s ever known in the midst of a miserable life, is pushed by fate into feeling emotions she isn’t sure how to process.”

The two endings of "Magic," the first episode, can be confusing. In the café, we see first that Meiko boldly demands Kazuaki choose between them, causing Tsugumi to flee and Kazuaki to follow; however, it’s suggested that this is Meiko's fantasy. In reality, she excuses herself, and Kazuaki plans to take Tsugumi elsewhere after their café visit. Calling part 1 “Magic” can lead the viewer to believe, perhaps, that Meiko has the magical power to hit redo on her words and actions.

Chance encounters and coincidental meetings are consistently explored in each chapter. Meiko realizes her friend Tsugumi’s new love interest is her ex-boyfriend Kazuaki, leading to an unplanned reunion when she confronts him. In "Door Wide Open," Nao’s attempt to seduce professor Segawa at her lover’s urging unexpectedly fosters a meaningful connection, heightened when Segawa reads an erotic passage from his novel. In "Once Again," Moka mistakes Nana for a high school friend at a train station, sparking a transformative interaction as they recreate old memories. These serendipitous moments highlight the film’s meditation on the profound effects of happenstance on human relationships.

Variety critic Peter Debruge wrote: “Audiences tend not to take well to coincidence in drama, which can feel unrealistic when handled clumsily. In Hamaguchi’s hands, however, lucky (or unlucky) twists don’t feel so much like manipulation as a chance for the filmmaker to explore a series of intriguing scenarios.”

A valid reading of the film is the unpredictability and twisting nature of life, and the extent to which uncontrollable luck or fate can shape our lives. Case in point: Meiko accidentally learns that her friend’s romantic interest is her ex-boyfriend, leading to an emotional confrontation that blurs the past and present. 

Additionally, Nao's attempt to seduce professor Negawa as part of a revenge plan concocted by Sasaki, her lover, backfires when the encounter unexpectedly exposes her vulnerability and sincere affection for the professor; their meeting elicits an emotional reaction from both of them that doesn’t result in sex or a romantic relationship as the viewer would expect. Nao is surprised five years later when she encounters Sasaki—now engaged to be married and doing better in his career than her. In a shrewd twist, it’s suggested that she may be pursuing a similar honeypot revenge against Sasaki by indicating romantic interest and kissing him. 

Finally, in "Once Again," a case of mistaken identity leads Moka and Nana to form a profound emotional bond during an accidental meeting, offering catharsis based on misunderstanding; despite these women discovering they are actually strangers, not former classmates, they unexpectedly form a friendship bond by the conclusion. 

Ponder, too, how characters in these stories often do things that opposite characters don’t anticipate, such as when the professor reaches toward the student, not to touch her but to open the door; or when ex-boyfriend Kazuaki embraces Meiko after their verbally volatile encounter; or when Nana offers to role play with Moka or runs to catch the departing Moka at the end.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is also about yearning for a deeper connection with others that may lead to frustration or fulfillment when your aspirations collide with reality. Consider, for instance, how Meiko seeks closure with her ex-boyfriend Kazuaki, hoping to resolve her unresolved feelings, only to be confronted with the painful truth of his new relationship with her close friend Tsugumi, leaving Meiko emotionally unsatisfied. And in the second chapter, Nao attempts to entrap her boyfriend’s professor, but instead of seducing him she feels seduced by him—even though the professor’s feelings are platonic; ultimately, Nao’s revenge ploy backfires, which results in divorce from her husband and economic struggles in the years to follow and also leads to Segawa being fired and disgraced. The irony here is that she abandoned her plan to trap Segawa, but by mistakenly sending her recording to the wrong email address, she ended up ruining both their lives.

Further reinforcing this latter theme, Moka and Nana initially believe they are former classmates but disappointingly learn they are actually strangers; yet, they spark a relationship by role-playing and pretending to be old friends. While the conclusion is ambiguous and open-ended, showing the two saying goodbye for presumably the last time, the fact that Nana runs to catch up with Moka in the final shot gives us hope that their relationship will continue.

Similar works

• The Tales of the Tokyo Night Sky (2019)
• Summer Blooms (2017)
• Call Me by Your Name (2017)
• Wednesdays Don’t Exist (2015)
• The Taste of Tea (2004)
• In the Mood for Love (2000)
• Portmanteau films released in the last 20 years, including: The French Dispatch (2021), Rio, I Love You (2014), Burning Palms (2010), New York, I Love You (2008), Lust, Caution (2007), To Each His Own Cinema (2007), Paris, je t'aime (2006), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), 11'09"01 - September 11 (2002)

Other films by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

• Passion
• Happy Hour
• Asako I & II
• Drive My Car
• Evil Does Not Exist