Labyrinth of Dreams (1997)

"In my boring life a chance for adventure has arrived"

There are some films that resonant not because of extraordinary acting or a compelling story, but rather the way the director wields his brush and paints a film alive with deft and mysterious strokes. Such was Labyrinth of Dreams for me.

Tomiko is jarred when her friend Tsuyako, a bus conductor like herself, is killed in a tragic accident. Tomiko and her other friend, Chieko, do not believe it was an accident. Rumor of a bus driver who is a serial killer has been making the rounds for some time. When he tires of a conductor romantically, he kills her, making it look like an accident. When Niitaka Tatsuo is hired at Tomiko’s bus line, Tomiko becomes determined to avenge her friend. The only problem is…she falls in love with the handsome, and possibly deadly driver.

The movie was filmed in black and white and based on a story written in the early 1930s. Due to the clothes, hairstyles, and bus model, the setting was ambiguous, but suffice to say it was set in the days of yore. Much of the “dialogue” was in letter writing form between Tomiko and Chieko and prior to her death between Tsuyako and Tomiko. A young Asano Tadanobu played the enigmatic Tatsuo. A man of few words he was served up as a sizzling sexy entre with a side order of menacing eyes. Seventeen-year-old Komine Rena wasn’t as strong in the acting department but did her best as the bored conductor who had a sexual awakening in the dangerous arms of Tatsuo. As Tomiko said, “Life was miserable and lonely. I wrestled with fate until the end.”

Director Ishii Gakuryu created a gauzy dreamlike film often obscuring the audience’s view with darkness, rain, clouds, even forest leaves. Blurred frames swirled the changes of scenes. The film was filled with symbolism. Battered moths struggled to free themselves from a vase or were attracted to a hot light impotently bashing their wings against it. There was little music and what there was of it was simple. Most often the natural sounds of rain, wind, or surf filled in for the lack of score. Several times complete silence or a blank screen were used to jar the viewer. Ishii kept the audience guessing whether Tatsuo was a cold-blooded killer or a figment of an overactive imagination.

Labyrinth of Dreams was an odd story of love, lust, and the intoxication of danger. Dreamily shot, the monochrome format only added to the mystery and claustrophobic atmosphere. This art house film will not be for the broader audience, but if you enjoy a film that is more experience than narrative it might be one to try. I’ll be looking for more of Ishii’s films to be sure.

“If both held their courses, then they would collide in 9 seconds and catastrophe would be inevitable.”

6 February 2026

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