The movie Thermae Romae begins in ancient Rome. An architect
named Lucius is failing to come up with new
innovations and is struggling with money. Every
idea he comes up with is rejected by the clients
who think his innovations are outdated.
One afternoon, Lucius’s friend brings him to a
public bathhouse to unwind. Lucius thinks it is
the worst place to relax since it is filled with
loud naked people. Overwhelmed by the environment,
he goes underwater and stays there for a while.
Suddenly, he notices a small whirlpool forming on
the other side of the tub. He goes to check
it but is pulled by a strong current.
In only a few seconds, Lucius ends up in a
tunnel-like place, struggling to breathe.
He tries his best to get to the surface and
is finally successful. But to his surprise,
he is not in the Roman bathhouse anymore. In fact,
he is in a modern Japanese bathhouse filled with
old men who are in shock to see him stand naked
in front of them. The architect has somehow
traveled through time to modern-day Japan.
Lucius, who has never seen someone with Mongolian
features, assumes that the men are from a flat
face tribe. After recovering from the shock,
Lucius notices that the place is more
advanced than any bathhouse he has ever seen.
The baskets, taps, and massaging
device blow his mind as he regrets
not thinking of these innovations earlier.
He also accidentally enters the women’s changing
room and is knocked out by a screaming old
lady. Then, we are introduced to a struggling
manga artist named Mami. His appearance
gives her an idea for a new character,
hence, she starts drawing his portrait.
A while later, Lucius wakes up and is given
a bottle of flavored milk. He is yet again
baffled by the sweet and cold taste of it.
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In fact, it is so good that it makes him
fall unconscious for the second time.
When he regains consciousness, he is back
in Rome surrounded by men. They say that he
drowned in the tub and was found a few minutes
ago. Initially, Lucius thinks his encounter with
the flat face tribe was only a dream but then,
he notices the empty milk bottle on his side.
The scene cuts to two months later.
Lucius proposed his renovation idea
to the owner of the bathhouse and made it
more advanced. People praise his creativity
and he makes a lot of money off it. They now
use baskets, massage booths, and even sweet
milk to enhance their bathhouse experience.
While in the tub, an old man wishes that he had
a bathhouse at home. As Lucius is thinking
of a way to make it possible, he is again
pulled by a current and brought to
a bathtub in the 21st century.
A man comes inside and asks Lucius to help
him bathe. Lucius is confused but he does
as told and finds out about many more useful
tools like a shower head and a shower hat.
Coincidentally, the house belongs to
Mami who finds Lucius on the floor.
She runs to get her sketchbook but when
she returns, he has already disappeared.
Back in Rome, Lucius makes a house bathtub
for the old man and earns a lot of money.
He finally has enough to feed his wife good meals
but she is not satisfied. She desperately wants to
have a baby and complains that Lucius is always
busy working. They get into an argument that
ends when she curses him and storms away.
A few days later, Lucius is approached by a
messenger of the emperor Hadianus.
The man is known for being cruel
as rumors say that he killed the cabinet members
who opposed him. Since the talk about Lucius’s
inventions has been going around town, even
the emperor is taking interest in him.
Upon meeting Lucius, he reveals that he is
an admirer of art, and what Lucius has done
with the public bathhouse is clearly a form
of it. Impressed by his work, the emperor
wants him to make a personal bath for himself.
He demands that it must be out of the ordinary,
innovative, and something that has never been
done before. Lucius accepts the challenge and
makes it his mission to impress the emperor.
The entire night, he goes around the town looking
for inspiration for a grand bathhouse but
finds nothing. He is embarrassed that all his
ideas are a copy that he shouldn’t get credit for.
Suddenly, he falls into a ditch and disappears.
A scene from the current time shows us
Mami working at a bathroom supply store.
Her career as a manga artist is not going well
so she has taken a side job. But even then,
she is struggling to stay awake at work.
One afternoon, she accidentally leaves the
water open and fills a tub to its brim. Suddenly,
Lucius appears in the tub and starts breathing
frantically. He stops when he realizes the
tub is bubbling on its own. The manager of
the shop goes to complain about the strange man,
giving Mami and Lucius time to socialize.
Lucius asks her to give him a tour of the place
and hands her a coin. Although Mami doesn’t
understand the language, she shows him
around. Lucius is mesmerized by the urinals
and thinks printed toilet papers contain the
secrets of the flat face tribe’s success.
But the thing that fascinates him the most is a
bidet. When he is on it, he feels like he is in
heaven. Copying the idea from everything
he saw, he returns to Rome and makes the
emperor the best bath house of all time.
It has a toilet with constant water flow to clean
the behind, a tub with bubbles made from slaves
blowing up a pipe, a glowing aquarium, and scented
candles. He exceeds the emperor’s expectations and
is awarded a special necklace that has a unique
sculpture of dog legs and human genitals.
Lucius runs home to show the achievement to
his wife but finds her making
love to his best friend.
In the future, Mami returns to her small hometown
after repeatedly failing to generate ideas for
a good manga and being kicked out of the side
jobs. She starts working in a local bathhouse
and studying ancient Roman history. The coin
she received from Lucius and his disappearance
has intrigued her and she wants to know if
he is actually a person from the past.
Back in Rome, Lucius has lost the will to live
after his wife ran away with his best friend.
One day, he is approached by a messenger who is
worried about the emperor. It turns out that the
emperor lost his son recently and thinks
that a crocodile is his reincarnation.
He wants Lucius to design a place
where the crocodile can be stored
and all his needs are met. Lucius has to be extra
careful with this one because if the animal dies,
all blame will fall upon him and he
will be declared a national criminal.
Following that, Lucius goes to the emperor’s
bathhouse to check the water flow at his request.
But when he enters the tub, he is pulled into
the future for the third time. He comes outside
and finds himself in a cage stuck with crocodiles.
It turns out he is in a crocodile sanctuary.
At the same time, Mami is also at the
sanctuary with a date who she doesn’t like.
She tries her best to get rid of the guy and
is happy upon seeing Lucius inside the cage.
She brings him out and shows him around
the sanctuary, forgetting about her date.
Lucius learns how to take proper care of
crocodiles and their preferred habitat.
Mami also takes him to learn archery
to see if he is really a Roman man.
He hits all the targets, confirming her
suspicion. A while later, he ends up in a
hot spring which takes him back to his time.
A few months later, the emperor gets a perfect
place to breed his crocodile son. He has
even started to treat Lucius like family,
inviting him to the palace frequently. Everything
is going well in the city until one day,
the emperor is informed of the rebellions
making an attack on his troops.
They are not happy with his rule and want
to dethrone him at any cost. The emperor’s
soldiers and the rebellions fight a long and
hard battle that goes on for more than a year.
By now, the emperor has grown old and is
ready to retire. He plans to leave the throne
to his nephew Ceionius. For Ceionius’s first
project as the emperor, he is going to build
a new bathhouse to gain the people’s support.
Hence, the emperor wants Lucius to help his
nephew in the project. This is a problem for
Lucius because his principles do not align
with Ceionius, who is arrogant and proud.
Lucius knows that if he becomes the emperor,
the fall of the Roman empire is inevitable. Hence,
after giving it much thought, he goes to Ceionius
and refuses to work for him.
Ceionius reminds him that going
against the emperor is treason punishable
by death but Lucius remains adamant.
He goes to a fellow architect and begs him to
take the project. However, the man is furious at
Lucius for being the reason he is broke. They get
into a fight and Lucius is pushed into a well.
In the next scene, he is with the flat face
tribe again. He is hurt but they are taking
care of him as their own. They bring him to
a hot spring where he can rest and recover.
It is said that if bathed in the water of
a spring, a person can heal quickly.
They also give him fermented alcohol which
burns his throat. Then, Lucius meets Mami who
has learned to speak basic Latin. She asks him his
name but Lucius is so drunk that he falls on top
of her and the two drown in the lake.
When they wake up, they are in Rome,
much to Mami’s amazement. She finds out that
Lucius is about to be executed for refusing
to oblige the emperor’s order. Worried,
she tries to convince him to take the
project but it doesn’t work. Lucius leaves
home with his luggage to save his life.
Meanwhile in Japan, the group of old men are
looking for Mami when they fall into the lake.
Like Lucius, they also get stuck in a
whirlpool and are brought to the past.
Lucius is on his way to a different city when
he comes across a natural hot spring on a hill.
He remembers the way he was treated by the
flat-faced tribs and realizes that the spring can
be useful to the emperor’s wounded soldiers.
He rushes to Mami to tell her of his idea which
she agrees with. Following that, Lucius goes to
the emperor and presents him with the vision.
He also claims that he was instructed
by Antonius to make the spring.
Antonius is another possible heir to the throne
who is much more eligible than Ceionius. Hence,
Lucius wants him to make him look
better in the emperor’s eyes.
After being permitted to make the spring, Lucius,
Mami, and the flat face tribe get to work. In
the next few hours, they make the first hut.
Gradually, many houses are built around the spring
and they turn into a resting point for the
soldiers. The tribe takes care of the wounded
and helps them recover quickly. They also use
their knowledge of modern medicine to do so.
A few months later, the soldiers win
the battle against the rebellions.
They celebrate by drinking and dancing. Lucius and
Mami sit in private and chat for a long time. They
have developed feelings for each other over the
time they worked together. Lucius is the happiest
he has ever been in life but that is until
the flat face tribe suddenly disappears.
Mami also starts vanishing in front of his
eyes but before she does, he tells her that
there are several ways leading to Rome.
In the following scene, the emperor makes
Antonius his advisor. Lucius is also awarded
in front of the civilians for the bravery he
showed in the battle. People acknowledge that
without him, they would have never won.
Meanwhile, Mami has started a new life in the
future. One day, she is walking down the city,
when she sees Lucius come out of a pond. The
movie ends as they meet each other again.
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