Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

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1:45

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

2021

2h 1m

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

115 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding. Meiko is startled when she realizes that the man who her best friend starts to have feelings for, is her ex; Sasaki plots to trick his college professor out of revenge, using his class-friend-with-benefits Nao, while Natsuko encounters a woman who seems to be someone from her past, leading the two to confess the feelings they have harbored in their hearts -- stories about the complexities of relationships, told through coincidences that happen in the lives of women in love.

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Critics Consensus

Writer-director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi explores multiple facets of the human condition with Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, all to delightfully affecting effect.

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Christina Newland

iNews.co.uk

09/19/2024

5/5

It's a film about love, in the broadest sense.

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Guy Lodge

Film of the Week

06/01/2022

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

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Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

04/28/2022

4.5/5

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.

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Ryan Swen

Taipei Mansions

Sep 5

It is in the realm of dialogue and especially reaction that Hamaguchi thrives, and what draws him in many’s eyes close to the realm of Rohmer and/or Rivette.

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William Stottor

Loud and Clear Reviews

07/18/2024

4/5

Through three distinct but thematically connected stories in Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi paints a vivid portrait of people facing choices and fates.

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Nadine Whitney

The Curb

05/04/2024

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.

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Rosie D.

@Rosieeeee Feb 7

Hamaguchi’s writing is on another level. By leaning into a theatrical, deadpan performance style, he centers the film entirely on the power of speech. The dialogue carries the weight of a physical encounter—intimate, messy, and profound. The pacing is slow, making the experience feel like drifting between sleep and wakefulness, but the script is so sharp it pulls you back the moment it hits its stride. It’s a film where language is the primary driver, tricking us into seeing 'fate' where there is only randomness and the stories we tell ourselves.

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Micha N

@RT77786565 03/30/2025

Season three is a major step up in quality compared to previous seasons and even compared to other fantasy tv-series. The Wheel of time epic world and characters are finally starting to remind how I believed it would look like while I was reading the books.

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Sam N

@RT61650855 09/26/2024

Like a Matryoshka doll, this film moves from one story to the next, revealing layer after layer, each more intricate and captivating than the last.

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Sergio S

@RT66744056 04/14/2023

I mean... it's quite boring guys, beautiful though

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William D

@acsdoug 04/05/2023

Chick flick - actually three chick flicks in one - but not too bad, there is good dialogue throughout.

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06/22/2022

戏剧般的电影，去掉蒙太奇，用一场场比真实还要真的对话戏去无限接近现实。

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Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Director

Kotone Furukawa

Actor

Kiyohiko Shibukawa

Actor

Katsuki Mori

Actor

Fusako Urabe

Actor

Aoba Kawai

Actor

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Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy: Trailer 1

1:45

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Synopsis

An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding. Meiko is startled when she realizes that the man who her best friend starts to have feelings for, is her ex; Sasaki plots to trick his college professor out of revenge, using his class-friend-with-benefits Nao, while Natsuko encounters a woman who seems to be someone from her past, leading the two to confess the feelings they have harbored in their hearts -- stories about the complexities of relationships, told through coincidences that happen in the lives of women in love.

Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Producer: Satoshi Takada, Satoshi Takata
Screenwriter: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Fictive , NEOPA
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 2021, Limited
Runtime: 2h 1m

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