A stylish and mysterious slow-paced drama from japanese punk director Sogo Ishii (now named Gakuryu Ishii), best known for making breathtaking underground films filled with rage, dealing with counterculture elements & smashing moral values.
Not as restless as his ’80s films, Labyrinth of Dreams revolves around a young bus conductor working with her new handsome driver, who is surrounded by strange rumors… Moody and mostly silent — very few lines, the film is like a slow funeral march through prewar Japan, with bored & emotionless characters wandering around. A stylistic exercice which was released in very few European countries between 1997-2000, and has now fallen into oblivion. Fun fact? At the same time, Kitano was becoming the japanese auteur par excellence.
Not sure this official VHS-to-DVD copy – unfortunately the only one available at the moment – really serves the black & white cinematography well.
AKA ユメノ銀河
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looks great