Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

If you’re a relative newcomer to Hamaguchi’s work, this triptych of gently humane, wistful short stories is an ideal, approachable introduction.

All three stories could be loosely described as tales of seduction, which is also the game Hamaguchi is playing with the audience: toying with us, persuading us to jump from one speculative train of thought to another, keeping us alert and intrigued.

This is an intriguing, involving work from a major filmmaker.

It’s destiny. It’s fate. It’s better than any romance under the stars.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is a brilliant, beautiful, deceptive meditation on the forces that move us all.

This female-led triptych of stories, with its deft, empathetic camerawork and intimate, intricately crafted character sketches, is a minor masterpiece in its own right.

Hamaguchi’s writing and direction are deeply humanistic and give us the sense that in life, although unpredictable, there are moments that can change us that are both small and monumental.

The small emotional truths dotted throughout this remarkably consistent collection of stories add up to a supremely satisfying experience, and stand as the perfect introduction to a great film-maker.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy contains the same minimalist pedigree but uses cruel twists of fate to extract existential truths from its imperfect characters.

The Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is a magnificent narrative exercise, a triptych of interdependent stories that share the same tripartite structure, and are united by chance and a deft filmmaker who defies the limits of cinema. [Full review in Spanish]