The Turns of the Wheel (1998)

"The Turns of The Wheel" is an awarded experimental movie which captures the spirit of 'renku', classical Japanese chain poetry, in the form of image and sound. This movie, or renku, consists of 18 verses. Each of these verses has an own life and might be considered as a single 'haiku', classical Japanese short poem. These haikus were first created on a storyboard, much like an action sequence or shot sequence in a film. However, the structure of each storyboard, in this particular case, followed the rhythm of the classic Japanese poetry. Director Karl Neubert's intention is to reveal characteristics of human nature by juxtaposing the rigid rhythm of the classical poetry and the apathy of modern Japanese society. The film's issues represent current social conflicts, such as generation gaps between parents and children shown in the 'Retrospection' sequence; sexual problems like harassment often seen in the workplace in 'Servitude'; impotence or emasculation either caused by social or environmental deterioration in 'Ascent'; and inequality in gender roles in the 'Corruption' sequence. The renku also contains other controversies - religion, human recklessness and even love - that are subtly exposed in the film through images, symbols and sounds.