Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi • 2021 • Japan
Starring Kotone Furukawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri
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 Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Oscar winner DRIVE MY CAR) presents 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 young woman’s college reunion leads to an unanticipated run-in with an old friend, and awakens feelings long since forgotten. Playfully inspired by life’s tiny miracles and bound together by memory, regret, deception, and fate, this collection of stories leaves no stone unturned as Hamaguchi plumbs the ever-deepening mysteries of the all-too-human heart.