Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is a Japanese anthology film told in three parts, each centred on a woman navigating the gap between what she chose and what she regrets. The first follows Meiko, who discovers that a man pursuing her friend is the former partner she broke up with. The second involves a student drawn into a scheme against a professor. The third brings two women together by chance on the street, each recognising the other as someone significant from her past.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi wrote and directed the film, which followed his 2018 feature Asako I & II and arrived the same year as Drive My Car, ahead of later works such as Evil Does Not Exist, GIFT and All of a Sudden. Satoshi Takata produced. Kotone Furukawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Katsuki Mori and Shouma Kai appear among the cast. The film runs 121 minutes and was made through the production companies Neopa and Fictive.

Released in 2021, it took about 2 million dollars worldwide, a modest figure consistent with an anthology of quiet chamber dramas rather than a broad commercial release. Audiences received it well, with a 7.5 rating on IMDb from around 11,000 votes and 7.2 on TMDB from roughly 373 votes. Critics were more enthusiastic still, giving it 8.4 from 115 reviews, placing it well above both audience scores.