Tokyo! – Blu Ray Review

The Film:

Tokyo! is it’s own trilogy, an omnibus film with the intentions of allowing three of the world’s top art house filmmakers, to shed light on their version of Tokyo. The directors are two Frenchmen, Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Be Kind Rewind) and Leos Carax (Pola X; The Lovers on the Bridge), and the Korean Bong Joon-ho (The Host). Those who have seen Paris, je t’aime, which is a much larger collection of much shorter films, will identify with the concept. However, they’ll also be aware that some films are bound to be better than others. In Tokyo!, where each film lasts over a half hour long, the film that falls a bit short is certainly a bit less forgivable.

The first of the films is “Interior Design”, as directed by Michel Gondry. It involves a young couple, Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) and Akira (Ryo Kase), who live with their high school friend, Akemi (Ayumi Ito), in Tokyo. They’re oblivious lovers, completely lost within the hectic and demanding world of big city life. Their efforts to find meaning and purpose are illustrated through a fascinating surreal twist which I will not spoil. The film, adapted from a graphic novel by Gabrielle Bell, is interesting, but it certainly doesn’t shed much light on Tokyo specifically. It’s instead a universal portrait of the ungrounded youth.

The second film is Leos Carax’s “Merde”, which stars the strange red-headed troll (Denis Lavant) that appears prominently in the film’s advertisements. He comes out of the sewers one day, an unidentifiable creature with a milky eye and a bright green suit, and terrorizes the citizens. At first, he’s only licking armpits. Then, he throws grenades. He’s eventually tried and receives a lawyer who claims to understand him. There’s a long sequence when the two “communicate” (we don’t get subtitles), which is a definitive example of why this film’s pacing is flawed. We begin to lose interest, and then the scene continues. And continues. Lavant is really good, and the concept is great (a modern day Godzilla shedding light on the “buried” nationalist party of Japan), but it runs out of steam shortly after it begins.

The last film, which may be the best and most relevant to the city, is “Shaking Tokyo”, as directed by Bong Joon-ho. It defines for us the “hikikomori” – urban hermits, usually young males, who one day enter their homes and never leave. The concept of urban isolation is obviously done to death, but strange additions of a pizza girl with “buttons” tattooed on her arms and periodical earthquakes certainly give the plot enough of a spin to remain fresh. The end of the film shows us a city where every citizen has become a hikikomori.

One of the flaws of the film is that only “Shaking Tokyo” seems specific to Tokyo. In a film without a linking theme this would be excusable, but I was expecting each director to use the setting more to their advantage and take care in examining social issues specific to that particular city. “Merde” can be set in any number of countries with a violent history, and “Interior Design” is so vague that it’s familiar of any city in the world.

Despite it’s flaws, Tokyo! is certainly easy to watch. The first and last films are very good, and although “Merde” doesn’t quite live up to their quality, it still gives us an incredibly memorable villain. Fans of the directors won’t be too disappointed, but don’t go in expecting much more than mild entertainment.

The Blu Ray:

Audio/Video: The films were all shot on different formats, and therefore video quality is a mixed bag. “Merde”, for example, has a lot of noise in some scenes (like the sewer), however it appears to be intentional. The last of the films, “Shaking Tokyo”, is letter-boxed more than the prior two, giving it a completely different aspect ratio. Nothing looks bad on it’s own, but it’s a weird package to watch the high contrast milky “Shaking Tokyo” after watching the grainy and damaged “Merde”. The audio is also fine and adds a good deal of dimension to certain scenes, such as Merde’s grenade-throwing rampage.

Making of…: There are three different “making of” features, each running about a half hour in length (and therefore running as long as the films themselves). The features for the last two films are a bit dull – they’re candid looks at the filming without any analysis or voice-over. It’s fascinating to compare and contrast the methods of each director, however a casual audience isn’t going to make it longer than five minutes before turning it off.

… Interior Design: This is the best of the “Making of” features if only because it’s presented in a more formal and traditional manner. Gondry discusses the intricacies of the script, the visual effects, the locations, etc., and we also hear from every one of the actors from the film (even those who hardly get screen time).

… Merde: This feature focuses on director Leos Carax and actor Denis Levant figuring out the mannerisms of Merde. The rehearse the first tracking shot of the film, which involves Merde walking down a city sidewalk and harassing anyone within an arm’s distance. We don’t hear any voice-over, however we watch several practice takes of Merde’s walk and see how carefully each piece of it was rehearsed.

… Shaking Tokyo: Much like the making of feature for “Merde”, this is another intimate look at the actual on set filming of certain key scenes of the film. While the prior feature focused primarily on Denis Levant, this sets it’s focus more on the technique of Bong Joon-ho. He’s incredibly precise, a perfectionist unwilling to settle for anything.

Director Interviews: These interviews are what I was hoping for out of the “Making of” features, but unfortunately this only runs for a combined 20 minutes or so. Each director discusses their film in depth, most notably their inspirations and how it reflects Tokyo to them. It’s insightful and engaging, and certainly a more worthwhile feature than anything else on the disc.

Photo Gallery: A simple two minute slideshow of pictures from the set and the film. It’s a bit hard to watch if only because each picture lasts only a few seconds on screen before it switches away. There’s no time to process anything.

Tokyo! Trailer: Self-explanatory.

Conclusion: I would recommend renting this film before purchasing it. The special features are a bit dull and not nearly as interesting as I would’ve liked. The film itself is a mixed bag – both the first and last segments are quite good, but the one in the middle is unfocused and without momentum.

Michel Gondry’s segment is probably the biggest selling point for an American audience, and if you’ve liked his previous work you’ll probably like “Interior Design”. It’s a very odd story, and although it’s not quite as quirky and charming as his features, it’s a worthwhile and interesting piece. Both the disc and the film are a mixed bag of positives and negatives, but there’s definitely enough good material to warrant a rental.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu Ray: Rating: