Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Labyrinth of Cinema is a gorgeous and deeply moving cinematic experience. It’s a collage of moments and moods, references to previous Japanese films, historical facts and little known incidents, emotional beats and character digressions that all add up to a profound meditation on war, violence, and the power of cinema. The film is densely layered and textured, peppered with literary and cinematic allusions, the screen filled with poetry and historical footnotes that intrude upon the frame – all of which collide in a dizzying time-travel musical fantasia. And yet, with all of the historical and meta-textual references, the film manages to maintain a sense of playfulness and joy, moving toward its powerfully emotional and moving finale. His final film, you can see Obayashi pouring his considerable passion and energy into each frame – and how important he sees the film’s themes and ideas. As the film explores different genres and periods of Japanese cinema, we’ve given the impression that war and nationalism are not just problems of the past, but that these are deeply ingrained problems that need to be addressed on a human level. This is exquisite filmmaking, a work that deserves close examination.