Mamoru Oshii
Lamù: Beatiful Dreamer

"the past and the future do not exist"

Here it is, the most discussed and quoted feature film about "Urusei Yatsura". 

Only one year after the first "Only You", "Beautiful Dreamer" (1984) hits the theaters and the audience is left completely disoriented. In fact, this film remains an enigma for many even today, an extreme transition from the light-hearted stories of the early anime series to a dreamy and complex plot, a mix of Chinese boxes and disorienting narrative levels. When it was released, it was quite a flop; fans of the series couldn't understand how it was possible to construct such a plot starting from the adventures of the merry band of Tomobiki. In reality, over time, this little masterpiece of animation, because that's what it is, has been studied more thoroughly, and with the series concluded, conclusions have been drawn on why the series director even clashed with the historical author, Rumiko Takahashi, over its realization.

The central plot revolves around a complex theme, the boundary between the real and the imaginary. The dream as an escape route from reality or as an integral part of it, or rather, the director questions whether the dream is actually the true real world or just a necessary accessory. It begins with a simple situation, a day in the Tomobiki community that seems to always repeat itself infinitely but with variations each time. Time and space lose their characteristics as defined physical dimensions and regain their spiritual dimension, subjective, and they blend into each other until all certainty is lost. Initially, only Onsen and Sakura realize that something very strange involves them, but one by one, many of the protagonists seem to disappear into nothingness, and the entire district of Tomobiki regresses and disintegrates, leaving only Ataru's house intact, where only a small part of the community seems to find refuge and maintain a physical dimension. At a certain point, Mendo understands everything, and what if it's all a dream? But whose? And why do he, Ataru, and the other companions seem unchanged while the rest of the city's inhabitants vanish into nothingness?

The film is inspired by the Japanese legend of Urashima Taro, which tells of a fisherman who, by saving a turtle, gains the ability to go beyond time. Numerous versions of this myth exist, even in Europe (the portrait of "Dorian Gray") and Oceania; it is probably one of the oldest in human history. The film's quality is remarkable; many visual passages are highly impactful, especially the play of light in many scenes, notably the conversation between Onsen and Sakura in the first part of the film. As in the more concrete tradition of Japanese animation, the soundtrack is perfect; suffice it to say that all the themes composed for the anime and the films are collected in a seven-disc box set in Japan.

In the end, I never mentioned Lamù...could she be behind it all?

P.S. The Italian version has the usual dubbing problem; the voices are often wrong (especially those of Lamù and Ataru), and it is unclear why the original cast was not at least partially used.