As far as titles go, few films are as aptly and succinctly summed up by their own as Transcending Dimensions. The latest project from Toshiaki Toyoda (Blue Spring, 9 Souls), the film is a psychedelic and cosmic odyssey that expands from this mortal coil to the ends of the known universe, exploring the limits of mankind and the potential greatness that can be attained. Packaged into a dense 90 minutes, Transcending Dimensions regularly flirts with incoherence, but often in thrilling ways, with Toyoda delivering an entertaining narrative loaded with psychic-powered confrontations, hallucinogenic visuals, and the eternal enigma of a magic conch shell.
Transcending Dimensions’ central plot concerns the disappearance of Rosuke (Yôsuke Kubozuka), a monk who was seeking to transcend his own being prior to going missing. Tasked with finding the monastic man and eliminating everyone responsible for his disappearance is Shinno (Ryuhei Matsuda), a hitman hired by Rosuke’s sister, Nonoka (Haruka Imou). Shinno infiltrates the inner circle of Master Hanzo (Chihara Junia), a cruel sorcerer who runs a cult and takes sadistic pleasure in maiming his followers. Preaching a lifestyle devoted to asceticism, Hanzo relies on his telekinetic powers to bend others to his will, capable of exorcising maladies and swaying the meek into severing off their own fingers to act as vessels into the great unknown. As it turns out, Hanzo also happens to be funding the very research facility that is holding Rosuke captive, where the monk’s mind is integral to unlocking the secrets of the universe (along with some assistance from artificial intelligence, natch). Meanwhile, Rosuke is venturing out on his own interstellar journey, exploring a spaceship seemingly millions of miles away from earth, where the rooms and hallways boast vivid kaleidoscopic designs and the lone inhabitant is another fellow monk. Through this quest, Rosuke appears to be unlocking some abilities of his own, as all characters hurtle toward a violent climax destined to spill blood. Also in the mix is the aforementioned magic conch shell that summons the monk and apparently eliminates the desire for all earthly pleasures when used — again, natch.
Transcending Dimensions opens with a piece of bravura filmmaking, kicking off with an understated but staggering shot of Rosuke’s reflection in a body of water as the camera tilts up to meet the man mid-meditation. These stunning formal traits welcomingly linger throughout the feature, as Toyoda’s camera appears not to be bound to any plane of existence, swirling and weaving in and out of prolonged sequences of behavior and discovery. Sonically, the film also impresses, employing terrific synth and jazz scoring that lends Transcending Dimensions a thrilling propulsiveness. These qualities coalesce into a show-stopping excursion into outer space, guided by the jamming soundtrack of “Inner Babylon” by Sons Of Kemet. It’s a total knockout sequence, and for fans of the beloved late title card drop, this is your Christmas morning.
But while the film’s continuous formal astonishment leaves any complaints against its style or technical chops feeling like bad-faith judgments, Transcending Dimensions does leave a little to be desired narratively speaking, hinting at an eventual Akira-esque showdown that sadly never comes to fruition, even going so far as to tease with a shocking visual of a man’s brain being summarily ripped out of his skull. In fact, for a film that occasionally engages in some fun telekinetic duels, Toyoda ultimately and surprisingly holds back on anything resembling an exciting showdown, opting for a more pensive exit. Still, Transcending Dimensions is consistently twisty and perplexing, and it typically lands with the right flavor of puzzlement, offering an undeniably good time audiences willing to submit to the mystery and particular flavor of indecipherability. Oh, and did I mention that there’s a magic conch shell?
Published as part of IFFR 2025 — Dispatch 2.
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