Three directors (Michael Gondry, Léos Carax and Bong Joon-ho) have each crafted their own versions of the life of Tokyo. This in no way means that these are literal in any way. They are all fantasies and believe me when I tell you they are all way out there, especially the first two, "Interior Design" and "Merde".
"Interior Design" is Michael Gondry's entry. Gondry is probably best known for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". A young Japanese couple, Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) and Akira (Ryo Kase), have arrived in the big city of Tokyo from a smaller town. They are short on cash and are crashing with Akemi (Ayumi Ito), a friend who has previously made the sojourn to Tokyo. To call the apartment small would be a gross understatement. There is barely room for Akemi. Akira is an aspiring filmmaker and he quickly achieves a modicum of success while Hiroko slowly fades into the background. The way that Gondry displays this is one of the most unusual, surreal and entertaining things I have ever seen on film. "Interior Design" is outstanding.
"Merde", from acclaimed French filmmaker Los Céarax, stars Dennis Lavant as a creature that lives in the sewers of Tokyo. He periodically comes to the surface and harasses the citizens of Tokyo. Naturally this causes a major sensation on the newscasts and on the streets. Each time he comes to the surface he commits more heinous acts until he is murdering people in bunches. The feel of the events is very much like the original Godzilla film. Even though there is terror everywhere, there is something almost comical about it. The creature is caught and put on trial and things only get stranger. "Merde" is a very good and entertaining film.
Finally, we have "Shaking Tokyo", Bong Joon-Ho's entry. His most famous previous film was "The Host", a film I couldn't stand. So it's not surprising that this was the least impressive of the three parts of " Tokyo!". It is light years better than "The Host", though. Teruyuki stars as a shut-in (hikikimori) who has been confined to his apartment for ten years. His only contact with the outside world is food delivery people, specifically the local pizza delivery guy. This is made clear by his apartment containing thousands of pizza boxes, neatly stacked everywhere. One fateful day, the pizza guy is a pizza girl and the shut-in is enthralled, and he falls in love with her. The next day, another delivery guy shows up and he learns that she has become a hikikimori. This finally gives him the impetus to finally go outside in search of his love. What happens then would best be described as ironic. "Shaking Tokyo" is also a very good film, but a notch below "Merde".
The sum effect of all three outings is a wonderful evening of unusual cinema and easily worth the price of admission.
