French directors Michel Gondry and Leos Carax, and Korean filmmaker Joon-ho Bong each contribute 40 minutes of tribute to, satire on and unique opinions of the Japanese capital city in Tokyo!, a series of three short stories.
Gondry's Interior Design is a humorous love story. A couple arrives in town and stays at a friend's flat. The pressure of the city causes them to drift apart: while the guy buries himself in his work, the girl feels left out.
Believers in the adage 'what you do defines who you are' will appreciate Gondry's insightful exploration of Japanese women's social status and self-worth.
A possessed, monstrous man from the sewers in Leos Carax's Merde is sure to thrill. He harasses the citizens of Tokyo with his unreasonable antisocial attitude and unknown language.
Carax abstractly portrays the Japanese concept of 'aliens' - the way local Japanese view foreigners. But while this has a promising start and premise, the man's gibberish quickly becomes annoying and the ending is weak.
Joon-ho Bong's Shaking Tokyo is about a hikikomori, or recluse, who has shut himself in at home for 11 years, gorging himself on delivery food and literature, and avoiding human contact. But his world is turned upside-down when a beautiful pizza delivery girl brings his meal and an earthquake strikes.
