Tokyo! (2009)

Just perfect...

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Tokyo!: Looking for a unique and memorable cinematic experience? Look no further. This triptych of 1h50 goes by so fast! The final scene comes somewhat too quick but leaves you with a lot talk about. Here's my ratings for the three shorts: Michel Gondry's Interior Design: charming interesting simple story with a punch line that will make you fall off your chair! 7/10 Leo Carax's Merde: Leo brought back his craziest character from the movie Holy Motors and this short had some dragging parts but was still better than the whole movie HM. 6/10 Finally, Bong Joon Ho's Shaking Tokyo is the best of the three. A peculiar but very captivating story about isolation and agoraphobia. 8/10

Japanese films can be among the strangest films in the world. This is not a complaint...just a fact. Sometimes the films are delightfully strange (such as "Happiness of the Katakuris") and others, like "Tokyo!" are weird....and NOT pleasantly weird. It's a shame, as I really wanted to like this one but can see no reason to see this film."Tokyo!" consists of three short films. All are set in Tokyo and feature Japanese or mostly Japanese casts. However, two of the films are directed by French directors and another by a Korean one. Perhaps this might explain why I liked it so much less than other weird Japanese films."INTERIOR DESIGN" is the best of the three films. It's a story about a couple that move to Tokyo and have a hard time fitting in and adjusting. All this is pretty enjoyable and the couple is cute. BUT, out of the middle of nowhere, the film becomes weird--super, amazingly weird. I think the theme is something about depersonalization but frankly the payoff just isn't there. Trippy and worth, perhaps, a 3."MERDE" is different because it starts off VERY weirdly and is about a weird creature that lives in the sewer and runs about doing stupid (and rather funny) things. I liked the film a lot. And then, for no apparent reason, he began murdering people and the film because bloody and unfun. Of the three films, this one was the worst--tedious beyond belief and yechy--with a bit of VERY unsexy full-frontal nudity to boot. Unpleasant, that's for sure and worthy of a 1."SHAKING TOKYO" is a strange but somewhat enjoyable film about the 'hikikomori'. A hikikomori is a strange sort of person who simply gives up on life and becomes a recluse--and it usually begins in the teen years and may last many years. According to one article I read, this mental illness affects a whopping 700000--though no disorder like this is seen in western society. It is NOT the same as agoraphobia (caused by fear of life outside the home) but is more like a voluntary sort of hermetic life. The story is about one man content to live this sort of withdrawn life until he meets a very odd pizza delivery lady. Not pleasant but not awful and I'd give it a 3.Overall, none of the stories are particularly good and all are odd just for the sake of being odd. I just couldn't stand that there NEVER was any payoff for any of these stories and cannot recommend the film.

I can honestly say I've never seen a film quite like Tokyo!. It's extraordinary in its scope and themes of love, identity, and purpose. Three different filmmakers: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine...), Leos Carax, and Joon Ho Bong direct this triptych containing three different stories centered in the city of Tokyo!. All three stories do a great job conveying what it feels like to be a small fish in a big pond. The first film, Interior Design, is about a couple moving to Tokyo and trying to fit in. The second, and my favorite, is called Merde, and to explain it does not do it enough justice. You just have to watch it. The final story, Shaking Tokyo!, is a strange love story, but it works well with the city itself. The film is so unique, it must be viewed by everyone! Go see it!

I just saw Toyko! this week and loved it. The three film a very different yet weave together well with themes on communication, or lack there of. It is astounding how in one of the most populated cities in the world people can be so alone. Michel Gondry's "Interior Design" is both tragically realistic and sweetly surreal. The tale of the two young lovers who find their relationship unraveling after their move to Tokyo! is very touching. Ayako Fujitani's portrayal of a young woman struggle to find her purpose in the world is genuine and relatable. Not to mention is has some great visual effects in the ending. Leos Carax's "Merde" is entertaining and at times funny and sometimes tragic and disgusting. Bong Joon-Ho's "Shaking Tokyo," the story of a recluse who finally comes out of his home in search of a girl with buttons, is creative and funny and endearing. Basically, you should watch it because it's great.