Directed By: Michael Gondry, Bong Jo-ho, Leos Carax
Grade: B+
Tokyo is collective work of 3 separate short films that form one wonderfully bizarre anthology. The three segments show unique, misunderstood characters with the scenery of Tokyo through the eyes of accomplished directors, Michael Gondry of Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind, Bong Jo-ho of The Host, and Leos Carax.
The first segment is Michael Gundry’s Interior Design. It follows a young couple who are staying in a friend’s studio apartment with her until they can find a place of their own. Akira (Kase) is an aspiring director who is showing his movie at what typically is a porn theater. His girlfriend, Hiroko (Fugitani), automatically feels like she is taking a backseat to him. When they try to get jobs he is the one who gets hired and she is stuck alone. She knows she has become an annoyance to her friend and she feels very unappreciated. What will it take for her to feel more appreciated? Becoming an intimate object in a sense. She begins living her life more free with no worries. The image of this is completely hilarious, especially in her transformation from her human form to having more wood and furniture like characteristics about her. There are some incredible special effects that make this look awkward, startling, yet oddly realistic. Especially as the segment wraps up there is a great quirkiness to it as this unappreciated girl finally gets to feel useful.
The second is entitled Merde after the main character who also happens to be the antagonist. Merde is a beastly man who lives in the sewers. He comes up, revealing himself and tormenting the people of Tokyo. He steals money and flowers and eats them. He even steals a crippled man’s crutch just to throw it seconds later. Everyone is horrified by this monster, but the police are having quite a hard time catching him. The next time he comes back things only get worse as he sets off explosives and is now wanted for murder. By going down in to his dwelling they do end up catching him. While in prison he only eats flowers and money and doesn’t utter a word that can be understood. Many stories spark up about who this person is, many which contradict with the others. A man from the U.S. claims that he can communicate with this man. He succeeds in doing so and becomes his attorney. Some of the funniest moments in the segment are through Merde’s philosophies. In the trial we learn that he killed innocent people because he doesn’t like innocent people. There is a very matter of fact way about him that goes against the norm and doesn’t apologize for it.
Merde is extremely quirky with all of the gibberish and self-slapping alone, but particularly through this character of Merde who seems monstrous and is very violent, but not necessary purely evil. He simply sees the world a bit differently and plans on living it on his own terms. Even when he is given the death penalty he denies it. Merde depicts anti-immigration beliefs as Merde is an immigrant in the first place and one who shows quite distaste for the Japanese. Through his destruction of many people from this country that he despises, he becomes an unconventional terrorist. Through some of the gossip stories we hear of Merde, many are terrorist fears, one suggesting that this man came from the Al Qaeda training camp. What I really appreciated about Merde most though was how it showed us this free minded beast who lived by his own rules, even if they were offensive and harmful. He didn’t accept the death penalty and so it wasn’t able to affect him as it did every other criminal who was subjected to it. He might have possessed evil, but it was evil that could not be killed by a noose.
The last segment is Bong Jo-Ho’s Shaking Tokyo. It follows a man who hasn’t left his house in 11 years. He has piles and piles of books surrounding his house, which he has read every one of. Every item he has is lined up in a specific place. He has piles of rows of pizza boxes from the pizza he has ordered every Saturday. The only contact he makes with the outside world is when he gets his food delivered to him. Even in this case he doesn’t make eye contact. However, one day after 11 years, he does make eye contact with the pizza delivery girl. Seconds later an earthquake strikes, knocking her unconscious. He manages to help her, but after she leaves he can’t get his mind off of her. In a few minutes he might have been so taken with this girl to shake up his whole way of life, questioning whether this is strong enough to get him to go out in to the world that terrifies him so much. Shaking Tokyo is the most unclear of the three segments, but it seems to hit on the internet age of people confining to their home and getting farther away from face to face interactions. This man reads about the world since he is too afraid to actually go out and live much of a life himself. It is hard to believe that this came from the same man that directed The Host as the two films couldn’t be more different. Shaking Tokyo is much more laid back and ominous. It is a beautifully done and very interesting, but more open-ended and multi-interpretive.
The acting all around in Tokyo is very well done. Among the best has got to be Denis Lavant who plays Merde. He brings to life this animal like man who seems as if he is not even human. Pulling off the dialogue in the gibberish sequences is impressive enough. He presents a great mystery in his character as well. Part of us is disgusted by him while part of us is fascinated by him. Ayako Fugitani and Ryo Kase did very well in Interior Design as well. They give us likeable, lively characters that we can feel for and relate to, even more so when it comes to the conclusion. Ayako Fugitani does wonders with the transition and helps shape the off beat, but charming tone that we are left with. Teruyuki Kagawa as the hermit in the last segment is withdrawn enough to bring out the reclusive tendencies of his character, while showing this scared vulnerability in him mirrored by the hope that someone will be strong enough to break it down.
Tokyo is a collection of very bizarre short films centering around this city. You are likely not to see anything like this anywhere else. They are all daring and characteristic of the director and their views in certain aspects of Tokyo as well as the world. When you first watch it you are just baffled by it. You really don’t know what to think. This doesn’t stop it from sneaking it’s way in to your mind. These stories stick with you. The more you think about them, the more you will understand and appreciate them.
Very good review. I agree with you, this was a very good film. Very visual and striking. This is what film should be. It's sad that we don't see many films, like this. Hopefully it will find an audience on DVD.