[Lee Jong-gil's Film Reading] Finding Myself in the Unexplainable Coincidences

Ryusuke Hamaguchi 'Coincidence and Imagination'

Meiko (Furukawa Kotone) is a fitting model. Her friend Tsugumi (Hyunri) helps her with makeup. After the shoot, the two take a taxi together. The ride home is far from boring. Tsugumi shares a new love story. "How should I put it, he feels familiar with women? Not in a bad way. I heard he has an office and home in Aoyama. Doesn’t he seem like a player?" "Well, I’m not sure. What’s his job?" "He’s the CEO of an interior design company and also invests." Meiko is momentarily unsure where to look. She forces exaggerated laughter as if her secret has been exposed. "That does sound a bit player-like."

The film Chance and Imagination is a collection of short stories about imaginations that happen in chance moments, just like its title suggests. In episode 1, "Magic (More Uncertain Than Magic)," Meiko hears from Tsugumi about the recent news of her ex-boyfriend Kazuaki (Nakajima Ayumu). When she learns that he couldn’t forget her for a while, she becomes anxious and doesn’t know what to do. Tsugumi doesn’t notice this. She says their first meeting felt like "magic" and that she even wanted to give herself to him.

Everyone experiences unexplainable coincidences a few times in life. Unexpected events are thrilling and ecstatic. Meiko is no different. Knowing that Kazuaki couldn’t forget her for a while makes her tremble with happiness. Chance only allows a brief moment. If that leads to continued meetings, it’s no longer chance. It’s fate. Meiko immediately goes to find Kazuaki. She keeps provoking him to turn it into fate. "Kazu is too kind. That’s why he doesn’t suit me. He and Tsugumi make a great couple." "Right." "Are you willing to believe in something more uncertain than magic, Kazu?"

It’s unclear how much Meiko missed Kazuaki. She might not have thought about him at all. Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi dealt with a similar role in his previous work Asako (2018). The protagonist Asako (Karata Erika) accepts Baku (Higashide Masahiro) as fate, like a piece of metal attracted to a magnet. Without time to explore, he kisses her and they start a relationship. Their subsequent actions are also surreal. They ride a motorcycle together and get into a traffic accident. The film doesn’t reveal why the accident happened or how badly they were injured. The spotlight is only on them collapsing on the ground and sharing a passionate kiss. This shows a fatalistic attitude. The accident is inevitable. If accepted as fate, there’s no need to think about cause or reason.

Baku disappears like smoke after going to buy shoes. Hurt Asako meets Ryohei (Higashide Masahiro), who looks just like Baku, two years later. They become lovers, find a new home, and prepare for a happy honeymoon. But at a farewell party hosted by friends, Baku, now a successful model, suddenly appears and extends his hand. "You were waiting after all." "Why? Is now the time?" "I promised Asako I’d definitely come back." When asked about the timing, he answers with a non sequitur about the reason for his actions. This can be interpreted as a retort that timing doesn’t matter. He still hopes Asako will leap into fate.

Led by Baku’s hand, Asako heads to Sendai and says, "Everything that has happened so far feels like a dream." Only after defining the dream as a dream does she change her mind. The moment she crosses the boundary again is shown in a close-up shot. The background features the sea. Director Hamaguchi shows a similar-sized shot early on as well. It’s the face looking at a photo of twin sisters at the Shigeo Gocho photo exhibition. Asako’s gaze shifts from such ambiguous artificial images to unified nature.

Meiko’s attitude toward chance is similar. She creates a strange atmosphere and even imagines reconciliation but recognizes reality due to external factors and runs outside. She runs straight toward the front as if about to jump out of the screen and then looks at the cityscape from an overpass. She is no longer a subject shot under artificial conditions. She is an active subject capturing the photo as it is. Without agitation, she will hope that all connections will once again turn into fleeting chance moments and distant memories. Just like Asako.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.