緊接《流浪者之歌》,「大正浪漫三部曲」中篇。獨立後的鈴木繼續追求其理想電影語言,大玩鬼怪、淒美、詭秘、色情元素。故事改編自泉鏡花同名作品,講述劇作家松崎春狐偶遇神秘女子品子,被誘邀到金澤市,在火車上碰見他的客人玉脅,後者向他表示正準備目擊一個已婚婦和其情夫殉情自殺。松崎懷疑品子就是玉脅的妻子,而此行可能是一場死亡之約。然而好戲在後頭,結局出人意表。畫面構圖精心營造,猶如一幅幅淒美的人物風景畫。

Suzuki Seijun’s hallucinatory second entry in his Taisho Trilogy plays like an Eastern cousin to the work of David Lynch, melding a feverish exploration of the theatrical arts with Suzuki’s trademark surreal imagery and dreamlike narratives. Adapted from a work by Taisho-era writer Izumi Kyoka, the film follows Matsuzaki, a playwright whose chance encounter with a ghostly woman leads to a deepening obsession that may spell his doom. Also known by the title Kagero-za, Heat-Haze Theatre is Suzuki at his most daring and fantastic, and culminates in a surreal kabuki performance that unnervingly captures Matsuzaki’s life, and perhaps also his death.