An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction, and a chance encounter with the past.

Propelled by coincidence and imagination, and guided by love’s gentle current, acclaimed director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi (Happy Hour, Asako I & II) returns with an enchanting triptych that spins mundane encounters into a world of infinite possibilities. In Episode 1: Magic (or Something Less Assuring), a young woman is startled when she realizes that her best friend’s new flame might just be her ex; in Episode 2: Door Wide Open, a disgruntled student plots to trick his college professor, using his friend-with-benefits as bait; and in Episode 3: Once Again, a girl’s college reunion leads to an unanticipated run-in with an old friend, and awakens long-forgotten feelings.

Playfully inspired by life’s tiny miracles, and binding them together with threads of memory, regret, deception, and fate, Hamaguchi leaves no stone unturned in his quest to chart the ever-deepening mysteries of the all-too-human heart.

(Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, Japan, 2021, 121 min, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Description and images on this page courtesy of Film Movement.

“The geometry of desire is elegantly plotted in Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, a wistful, moving, outwardly unassuming movie.” — The New York Times 

“A playful triptych of self-contained vignettes (complete with their own credit blocks) that are bound together by a shared fascination with memory, coincidence, and the deep truths that shallow lies tend to uncover…” — IndieWire

We all have regrets and wish for do-overs sometimes, Hamaguchi exercises these second chances and fantasies in intimate human stories… It’s one of those films you want to see it again immediately after finishing it. — ScreenAnarchy