Yume, Yume No Ato (partially lost Japanese/French fantasy film; 1981)

This article has been tagged as NSFW due to its partial nudity.

Poster for the movie.

Status: Lost

Yume, Yume No Ato is a Japanese/French fantasy movie directed by fashion designer Kenzo Takada and released on January 24, 1981. The film is most noteworthy for its soundtrack, which was composed by the American rock band Journey. This soundtrack was released in 1980 under the English-translated name of Dream, After Dream, and was met with generally positive reviews from American rock critics.^[1] However, while the album was released internationally and is quite easy to come by,^[2] the film that it was created for has fallen into obscurity and has not resurfaced since its initial release.

Plot

The movie is a fantasy-romance, which centers on the quest of an unnamed young man (Enrico Tricarico). A wise fortune teller (Léo Campion) advises the man to head south, which he does, with the intention of finding happiness. After traveling a long way, this man arrives at an ancient castle housing two mysterious women, named Tsuki (Anicée Alvina) and Yuki (Anne Consigny). Both of these women fall in love with the man, causing them to transform into birds, as true love has freed them from their artificial human forms. Afterward, the young man is left by himself “to face his destiny”.^[3]

Little else is known about the plot, or about the cryptic meaning of the ending description, though the film is said to take place in a dream-like environment. Supposedly, the movie also features a governess character played by Liliana Gerace, but it is not known how this character fits into the story. The film has a runtime of 101 minutes.

Synopsis

A lone youth walks in a cold and quiet desert night. In a distant lake, a boat decorated with flowers floats, and the voice of a woman can be heard. As he runs to the shore the boat vanishes and departs. The young man pushes off in the Otani [the name of a ship] that was abandoned nearby (into the water). The sun rose, and the man lost consciousness.

The young man who was a master of fabrics had grown tired of his life of plenty, and set out on a journey, heading the divinations of an old (man/woman): "Your happiness lies on the other side of the lake."

The young man awakes in an ancient castle on the opposite shore of the lake. There two queens lived Tsuki and Yuki (Moon and Snow). Kind and pure Yuki had found the young man, and saved him. Yuki introduced the young man to her older sister, Tsuki, who was a woman of breathtaking and bewitching beauty. While the young man was charmed by Yuki, he could not resist Tsuki's allure, and entered her bed when invited.

The man wove for them fabrics. For Tsuki, he could make wonderful products, but for Yuki his creations were lackluster.

One day, the man met Tsuki outside of the castle, and there in the middle of the river, on a bed of flowers, they consummated their passions. When they returned to the castle, Yuki was shocked to see them. "What have I cast between my precious Tsuki and doleful Yuki, so endeared to each other like twins?", the young man thought with a guilty conscience.

The sisters viciously quarreled. Then, Tsuki, determined to kill the young man, invited him to her bed. Wrapped in the young man's embrace, Tsuki gripped the tank (dagger) she had prepared, but no matter how she tried, could not bring herself to stab him.

"Alas, I cannot..." Tsuki, as if she had gone mad, flew to the terrace. The young man chased her, and there he was stuck in place. Before his eyes, the fleeing Tsuki slowly turned into a bird. Then, when Tsuki had completely transformed, she slowly unfurled her wings, and took flight- above, and away from the garden.

"For you were too beautiful... too earnest and wonderful a person... We, who should never have loved you, loved you... alas..." Yuki whispered.

"It was you who I loved most of all!" shouted the young man skyward, where a single bird soared leisurely through the air.

Production

The project was announced at a press conference on June 16, 1980, and shooting for the film began in Morocco in July of that year.^[4] The film was a Japanese/French collaboration, as the cast is made up entirely of French actors while the known crew members are a mix between the two. In addition to directing, Kenzo Takada also scripted the movie alongside Xavier De Castella. Other production credits include Hiroaki Fuji and Tatsuo Funahashi as producers, Tatsuji Nakashizu as set designer, Senji Horiuchi and Julien Cloquet as sound designers/recordists, and Setsuo Kobayashi as cinematographer.^[5]

The journey became involved with the film after they were approached by CBS/Sony. Takada had requested the company to find a popular group willing to produce the soundtrack, and Journey was chosen so that the movie would increase the band's popularity in Japan. The band, who agreed to the proposal, wrote and recorded the music while in Japan for their Fall 1980 tour after Takada granted them complete creative control over the soundtrack.

Status

In addition to the film’s theatrical run in Japan, it was also released in France under the name of Rêve Après Rêve.^[6] However, outside of these screenings, the film has not resurfaced in any capacity. The movie has aired on Japanese television in the past, but no recordings have found their way online, and it has not been released on VHS or DVD (possibly due to Kenzo Takada being against such a release).^[7] Despite this, a number of production stills, as well as the contents of a program pamphlet, have been found, which serve as the only visual evidence of the film’s existence. (The Original Page wasn't Translated, here's the translated version) ^[8]