For this little segment, we're going to be talking about omnibus films/anthologies revolving around cities. First up on the list: Tokyo.
Tokyo! is a collection of three films helmed by non-Japanese directors. The Tokyo connection is not as solid as you think, some of the pictures deal with universal themes of isolation, identity and longing.
Interior Design is directed by Michel Gondry, of such films as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind. Akira (Ryo Kase) is an aspiring filmmaker who moves to Tokyo along with his girlfriend Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani.) They crash in their mutual friend Akemi's (Ayumi Ito) apartment while hunting for an apartment of their own. As the days plod on, Hiroko finds herself disconnected from her life. She asks herself, 'what is my purpose in life?' Soon she realizes the answer to this question as the movie takes a sudden, surreal turn.
Interior Design is based on the comic "Cecil and Jordan in New York" by Gabrielle Bell. Of course the setting is changed to Tokyo, but the themes in this movie are still as relevant (probably even more so) in the Japanese setting.
Gondry uses his manipulation of visuals to depict the surreal aspects of the film; I won't spoil it for you, but the part at the end with the camera tricks and CG is quite fun to see. Add that to the usual visual flair: Akemi's apartment is cramped, especially with 3-4 people living in it at one time. The apartments Hiroko and Akira look at also are weird and unique in their own way.
The acting is solid. Kase is (as usual) good, and Fujitani shows her chops in more ways than one. The scenes themselves are funny, and the movie Akira screens may be a bit of a jab at the artsy fartsy-ness of some people. (Did that last sentence even make sense?)
What do you really want in life? The answer to that question, this movie says, may be different than the answer to 'what are you doing right now?' And, it seems, that is all the difference one needs.
Merde is directed by Leos Carax, a French filmmaker known for Lovers on the Bridge and Pola X. The titular character of the film (Denis Lavant) is a weird unkempt man who emerges from the sewers and wreaks havoc in the streets of Tokyo. At first he is merely an annoyance, but soon he begins to wreak death and destruction when he discovers a cache of old WWII grenades. He is captured and brought to trial.
The film itself is very abstract and open to interpretation, with messages on terrorism, media scrutiny (and parallels to media's intense voyeurism influencing the public) war, peace and the overall human condition. But for now lets settle on one of the most obvious parallels the film makes: Godzilla.
The Godzilla theme trumpets along the beginning of the film. Merde (French for 'shit') is more a force of nature than an actual person; both Godzilla and Merde are born by some fault of the people they terrorize. The acts he does are heinous, and it is hard to empathize with him in any way. His motivations are also driven by an almost one dimensional hate - whether that hate is justified or not does not justify his actions, but still this motivation exists.
Yet Godzilla is something of a cultural icon now, and, comparably, in the movie - some people actually sympathize with this wild man. So you have to wonder, what does Merde stand for now? What does he represent? Or, arguably, he may just simply be?
Anyway, nice film, an interesting cameo from Julie Dreyfus (Kill Bill) at the end too. At times, stuff does get a bit heavy handed, sometimes browbeating messages and symbolism to the viewer, and some scenes come off as a bit tedious. As the film is open to any interpretation, its a bit of a challenge to try to understand. But the overall product is okay, at the very least.
Shaking Tokyo is directed by Korean Bong Joon-ho, known for his films Mother, Memories of Murder and probably most popularly, The Host. The movie focuses on a hikkikomori, or shut-in played by Teruyuki Kagawa (Kisaragi, among others) who has completely shut himself out of the world and all social contact. His life is a regimen of regularity that he considers his perfect world. One day, he meets a pizza girl (Yu Aoi) and his perfect world begins to crumble.
I've mentioned the phenomenon of hikkikomori in earlier posts: people who, due to a collection of societal and psychological factors, decide to shut themselves off from the world, and stay that way because of how society is put together. In this case, Japanese society, with its aggressive school culture of getting to top universities, entrance exams, etc etc, plus the intrusion of technology, plus the slumping job market in the face of recession, plus the ever increasing cost of living all contribute to the phenomenon, so much so that government has acknowledged it to be a national problem. This sense of despair or failure that drives them to isolate themselves is something I am familiar with myself (although as you can see, I'm not a shut in lol)
Teruyuki Kagawa is superb as the main character. This dude is everywhere these days - TV, movies, what have you. Yu Aoi once again proves why she is one of the top actresses of her generation in Japan (and my personal favorite haha) despite having little screen time in the movie.
The movie has a cute sci-fi flavor to it that complements the story nicely. Some of the shots are amazing, and I mean that in a logistical manner too - how the heck did Bong Joon-ho get these shots? The repetition of elements in some shots also complements the notion of this empty yet "perfect" world.
This film is my favorite of the omnibus. It's simple but works well, and it captures the essence of the themes it explores while not being too heavy handed about it.
Overall Tokyo! is a mixed bag, but one worth seeing.
Tokyo! is a collection of three films helmed by non-Japanese directors. The Tokyo connection is not as solid as you think, some of the pictures deal with universal themes of isolation, identity and longing.
Interior Design is directed by Michel Gondry, of such films as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind. Akira (Ryo Kase) is an aspiring filmmaker who moves to Tokyo along with his girlfriend Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani.) They crash in their mutual friend Akemi's (Ayumi Ito) apartment while hunting for an apartment of their own. As the days plod on, Hiroko finds herself disconnected from her life. She asks herself, 'what is my purpose in life?' Soon she realizes the answer to this question as the movie takes a sudden, surreal turn.
Interior Design is based on the comic "Cecil and Jordan in New York" by Gabrielle Bell. Of course the setting is changed to Tokyo, but the themes in this movie are still as relevant (probably even more so) in the Japanese setting.
Gondry uses his manipulation of visuals to depict the surreal aspects of the film; I won't spoil it for you, but the part at the end with the camera tricks and CG is quite fun to see. Add that to the usual visual flair: Akemi's apartment is cramped, especially with 3-4 people living in it at one time. The apartments Hiroko and Akira look at also are weird and unique in their own way.
The acting is solid. Kase is (as usual) good, and Fujitani shows her chops in more ways than one. The scenes themselves are funny, and the movie Akira screens may be a bit of a jab at the artsy fartsy-ness of some people. (Did that last sentence even make sense?)
What do you really want in life? The answer to that question, this movie says, may be different than the answer to 'what are you doing right now?' And, it seems, that is all the difference one needs.
Merde is directed by Leos Carax, a French filmmaker known for Lovers on the Bridge and Pola X. The titular character of the film (Denis Lavant) is a weird unkempt man who emerges from the sewers and wreaks havoc in the streets of Tokyo. At first he is merely an annoyance, but soon he begins to wreak death and destruction when he discovers a cache of old WWII grenades. He is captured and brought to trial.
The film itself is very abstract and open to interpretation, with messages on terrorism, media scrutiny (and parallels to media's intense voyeurism influencing the public) war, peace and the overall human condition. But for now lets settle on one of the most obvious parallels the film makes: Godzilla.
The Godzilla theme trumpets along the beginning of the film. Merde (French for 'shit') is more a force of nature than an actual person; both Godzilla and Merde are born by some fault of the people they terrorize. The acts he does are heinous, and it is hard to empathize with him in any way. His motivations are also driven by an almost one dimensional hate - whether that hate is justified or not does not justify his actions, but still this motivation exists.
Yet Godzilla is something of a cultural icon now, and, comparably, in the movie - some people actually sympathize with this wild man. So you have to wonder, what does Merde stand for now? What does he represent? Or, arguably, he may just simply be?
Anyway, nice film, an interesting cameo from Julie Dreyfus (Kill Bill) at the end too. At times, stuff does get a bit heavy handed, sometimes browbeating messages and symbolism to the viewer, and some scenes come off as a bit tedious. As the film is open to any interpretation, its a bit of a challenge to try to understand. But the overall product is okay, at the very least.
Shaking Tokyo is directed by Korean Bong Joon-ho, known for his films Mother, Memories of Murder and probably most popularly, The Host. The movie focuses on a hikkikomori, or shut-in played by Teruyuki Kagawa (Kisaragi, among others) who has completely shut himself out of the world and all social contact. His life is a regimen of regularity that he considers his perfect world. One day, he meets a pizza girl (Yu Aoi) and his perfect world begins to crumble.
I've mentioned the phenomenon of hikkikomori in earlier posts: people who, due to a collection of societal and psychological factors, decide to shut themselves off from the world, and stay that way because of how society is put together. In this case, Japanese society, with its aggressive school culture of getting to top universities, entrance exams, etc etc, plus the intrusion of technology, plus the slumping job market in the face of recession, plus the ever increasing cost of living all contribute to the phenomenon, so much so that government has acknowledged it to be a national problem. This sense of despair or failure that drives them to isolate themselves is something I am familiar with myself (although as you can see, I'm not a shut in lol)
Teruyuki Kagawa is superb as the main character. This dude is everywhere these days - TV, movies, what have you. Yu Aoi once again proves why she is one of the top actresses of her generation in Japan (and my personal favorite haha) despite having little screen time in the movie.
The movie has a cute sci-fi flavor to it that complements the story nicely. Some of the shots are amazing, and I mean that in a logistical manner too - how the heck did Bong Joon-ho get these shots? The repetition of elements in some shots also complements the notion of this empty yet "perfect" world.
This film is my favorite of the omnibus. It's simple but works well, and it captures the essence of the themes it explores while not being too heavy handed about it.
Overall Tokyo! is a mixed bag, but one worth seeing.
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