Michel Gondry’s work (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, several cool White Stripes music videos) often demands –albeit politely — that viewers suspend their disbelief. Tokyo!, a compilation of three independent short segments, is no exception. To be fair, Gondry directs only one of them. To be unfair, all three have their share of “what the hell is going on?” moments.
Tokyo!’s goal is to take three unrelated stories and somehow create a connection between them based on their common setting. The project is ambitious, especially because none of the three directors are actually from Tokyo, or even Japan for that matter (Gondry and Leos Carax are French, Bong Joon-ho is South Korean.) Whether or not the project reveals some deep-seated meaning about Tokyo itself is debatable; what’s clear is that — as advertised — after seeing the film it is difficult to look at Tokyo the same way.
The first segment, Gondry’s “Interior Design”, tells the story of a young couple trying to find their place in the hectic (and stereotypically cramped) inner city. It begins as a charming and witty collection of exchanges about love, ambition, and belonging. However, about three-quarters of the way through Gondry unleashes his trademark visual effects and spins the story in an unexpected, surreal direction. While you may feel cheated out of a logical ending, Gondry fans will have been waiting the entire film for a dose of his movie magic. Pretentious? Maybe. Disappointing? Not really; if you can keep an open mind, that is.
The second segment, simply titled “Merde”, is the work of director Leos Carax (The Lovers on the Bridge, Pola X). Beginning with a visually astounding tracking shot spanning many city blocks, the story follows Merde, a sewer-dwelling hermit who arbitrarily terrorizes Japanese city folk. The Merde attacks cause a media stir as people start to question “who is the creature from the sewers?” He certainly fits the bill of a Karloff-era monster: wild red hair, pointed beard, one entirely white pupil-less eye, a jerky unstable walk, and a habit of eating flowers, money, and just about anything he can get his hands (and twisted yellow fingernails) on. His bright green suit is also somewhat akin to the dishevelled dress of The Dark Knight’s Joker.
The action, however, is cut short. The film quickly becomes more about the barriers of communication than it does about the monster, or more importantly, Tokyo. The long, non-subtitled scenes of Merde communicating with the only person who can understand him (strangely, a nearly identical-looking French lawyer) are over-the-top and quickly tiresome. While the story had potential, it was on a steady decline until this reviewer was slouched back and sighing heavily while waiting for the next segment to begin.
The final segment, “Shaking Tokyo”, is Bong Joon-ho’s — director of critically acclaimed monster movie The Host – first-person account of a hikikomori: in English, a total recluse. The dialogue is mostly drawn from the protagonist’s thoughts, as he explains the everyday procedures one goes through when never leaving the house. The quirky quarantined 30-something’s OCD-like habits are simultaneously interrupted by a young pizza delivery girl and a series of earthquakes, both of which drastically disrupt his “perfect” world. The segment is clever in design, and manages to be both funny without being excessive, and sweet without being sappy. Much like the protagonist’s spotless apartment, the film derives its beauty from the delicate care and attention to detail in each scene.
At the end of Tokyo!, you may be fumbling for some sort of conclusion or overarching lesson. The reality is that you’re not likely to find one, but the point isn’t to deconstruct the Tokyo you’ve just seen – it’s wondering what you will think about the Tokyo you’re going to see now.
Tokyo! opens this Friday in Toronto, and will continue a tour of Canadian cities this month, before being released to DVD this summer.
