Nazo no tenkousei (1998)

Director:

Kazuya Konaka

Writers:

Taku Mayumura (novel)
Sadayuki Murai (screenplay)
(more)

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Masami Horiuchi	...	Kishibe The Scientist
Dai Kanai	...	Old man
Chiharu Niiyama	...	Midori Kagawa
Ken Nishida	...	Dr, Konoike
Yasue Satô	...	Mayumi Iwase
Satoshi Tsumabuki	...	Koichi Iwata

Directed by
Kazuya Konaka

Writing credits
Taku Mayumura		(novel)
Sadayuki Murai		(screenplay)
Barry Banner		(English adaptation) (English language version) (as Kip Kaplan)

Produced by
Tomoyuki Imai	....	producer
John O'Donnell	....	executive producer (english version)
Stephanie Shalofsky	....	producer (English version)
Kiyoshi Sugiyama	....	producer
Tom Wayland	....	associate producer (english version)

Cinematography by
Yoichi Shiga

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hideki Onuki	....	second unit director

Visual Effects by
Yoshihiro Shiki	....	digital effects artist
Masao Yoshiwara	....	digital effects artist

Other crew
Barry Banner	....	voice director (English language version) (as Kip Kaplan)
Kevin Mckeown	....	translator (English language version)
Yoshihiro Ueno	....	planner
Tom Wayland	....	dubbing manager (English version)

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.
• Tsuburaya Productions

Also Known As:

The Dimension Travelers (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

this is NOT science fiction or fantasy

Promoting this film as a fantasy has done it immeasurable damage in American markets, guaranteed to disappoint fantasy enthusiasts while turning away those not so inclined. How in the world did Asian Pulp Cinema acquire US rights to this film? and why? Never mind; just forget the packaging and promo material for this film; this is NOT science fiction or fantasy - in fact, it's not a genre film at all.

This is a straight drama using CGI to flesh out a world the lead character may or may not inhabit (it may just be a delusion, with the whole story taking place in a mental hospital). It's ambiguous ending must therefore be respected as a determined effort not to answer many of the questions the film raises.

The film raises these questions by allowing this world to metamorphose repeatedly, tossing off vague hints of what might be the reality the lead has such a difficult time confronting; and in keeping with this personalities change repeatedly, in very subtle ways. The characters we see in the final sequence are clearly somehow not the people we first meet them as; yet these changes are not wrought through developing character traits, but simply effacing some traits and replacing them with others.

As with Christopher Nolan's "Memento" or the claustrophobic mystery "Identity" (at least until the end), it is best for the audience view this without the hope that linear narrative will at last pop up and make everything clear. However, the experience certainly left me with a strong, if mixed, emotional impression. Well-acted, carefully written, crisply directed. I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary Japanese cinema, and not simply those interested in "pulp cinema".