is a 2005 Japanese black comedy drama film written and directed by

Sion Sono is a Japanese filmmaker, author, and poet. Best known on the Film festival, festival circuit for the film ''Love Exposure'' (2008), he has been called "the most subversive filmmaker working in Japanese cinema today", a "Stakhanovite movement, ...

. It screened at the 2009 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. The title comes from the 1973 single by Yosui Inoue.

Plot

The movie focuses on the misadventures of low-profile theater troupe actor Mutsugoro Suzuki who begins a surreal journey back to his hometown, marked by his quest to find the person responsible for infecting him with a

sexually transmitted disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...

. As he travels down to his parents' house for a family reunion, his dreams become more and more intrusive. Eventually, after reuniting with his father, younger sister and friends, his dreams eat away at his sanity and he finds himself unable to differentiate between his dreams and reality. Thus, the movie ends with Suzuki abruptly leaving his family reunion and running down the evening road screaming and singing "Into a Dream."

Reception

The film has been presented as "A tender addition to Sono’s body of work (and a) moving look at fulfillment and fears in contemporary Japan."

Analysis

A retrospective review explains that "If ''Suicide Club'' announced a transition to a new filmmaking cycle for Sono, one where the director’s work became more genre-oriented and commercially viable, then it’s hard not to read ''Into a Dream'' as a self-lacerating consideration of that decision."

References

External links

*
Film details at MYAC
2000s Japanese-language films 2005 films 2005 black comedy films Films directed by Sion Sono Films about sexually transmitted diseases Japanese black comedy films Japanese drama films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub