Tokyo! (2008)

I was pretty bummed to have missed this in theaters, so it was near top of my Netflix queue when I came back from Germany. Tokyo! is a collection of three shorts by three different directors, linked by the city in which they take place.

Michel Gondry brings us "Interior Design", based on the graphic novel "Cecil and Jordan in New York". It follows the recent move to Tokyo of young couple Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) and Akira (Ryo Kase), who plan to temporarily stay with Hiroko's friend Akemi (Ayumi Ito) while looking for jobs and apartments. Akira is working to become a filmmaker, while Hiroko is unsure of any kind of career or talent she'd like to pursue. She hears the people around her bemoan her lack of ambition, and seeks a way to become useful to others, finally finding it in an unexpected way.

This segment is cute and a little whimsical in true Gondry fashion. I liked Ayako Fujitani (Steven Seagal's daughter) a lot and thought her character relatable and sympathetic. The story is a little slow but not painfully so, and it was also the only one of the trio to really give some insight into the city itself- its streets and culture. The ending is what makes it special, offering a surreal, tongue-in-cheek conclusion.

"Merde", from Leos Carax, focuses on a strange man living in the sewers who periodically pops up into the streets of Tokyo to wreak havoc on passersby. He has a curled beard and long fingernails, knows no Japanese, and seems not to care for those he's terrorizing. When he gets a hold of some hand grenades and several people are killed, he's finally captured and a strange French lawyer (Jean-François Balmer) who oddly resembles him in looks is brought to speak to him, as he claims he's the only one who knows the strange language the "creature" (who calls himself Merde) speaks. Merde's motivations and unique perspective are explored, as is the media frenzy surrounding his trial.

I liked this the least of the trio, finding it alienating and confusing. Merde grossed me out with his milky eye and disgustingly long fingernails, though I'm sure that was part of the point. He is off-putting and unlikable. I also wasn't particularly engrossed in the story- it has odd pacing and a wealth of ambiguities. I didn't hate "Merde", I just didn't get anything out of it. Apparently it's a reference to Godzilla, which is cool, but I haven't seen any Godzilla movies so I couldn't appreciate it for that.

The last short is Bong Joon-ho's "Shaking Tokyo". A hikikomori (Teruyuki Kagawa), or self-imposed Tokyo shut-in, narrates the intimate details of his lonely life, from meticulously stacking pizza boxes and rolls of toilet paper, to reading an inordinate number of books. His life changes suddenly when he meets a pretty pizza delivery woman (Yû Aoi) who collapses in his doorway during an earthquake. After this interaction he becomes obsessed with finding her again, and after learning that she's become a shut-in as well, he ventures outside for the first time in a decade and finds that the city has changed considerably since he last saw it.

This was definitely my favorite. It's funny and sad and inventive, and I love the main character's narration. There is a wonderful level of detail in the set design marked by interesting shot choices. The story is adorable and well-structured, and I feel like each character has a complex and involved backstory despite the fact that we didn't get to know them very well. It makes for an intriguing and memorable short film.

Overall Tokyo! is an engaging collection of shorts by a team of talented directors. Unfortunately I felt it a bit uneven. "Merde" felt out of place with the other two, both in story and tone. Still, it's a cool way to see this fascinating city through different eyes, and a nice showcase for Gondry, Carax, and Bong.

4/5