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Ayako Fujitani, Ryo Kase, Ayumi Ito, Denis Lavant, Jean-François Balmer ... see more see more... , Renji Ishibashi , Teruyuki Kagawa , Yû Aoi , Naoto Takenaka

Directors Michel Gondry, Bong Joon-ho, and Leos Carax each direct a segment of this triptych feature about life in 21st century Tokyo. The saga begins with Gondry's segment, entitled "Interior Design,... read more read more..." about a young couple who moves in with an old friend while attempting to establish themselves in Tokyo. Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) and Akira (Ryo Kase) have just arrived in the city. They're eager to launch their careers, but first they'll have to find a place to stay. Though Hiroko's old friend Akemi (Ayumi Ito) opens her doors to the ambitious young couple, her boyfriend isn't exactly thrilled by the new living arrangement. As Akira takes his first steps toward becoming a filmmaker, the neon jungle beckons to Hiroko. Before long, Hiroko begins to experience a startling metamorphosis that instills her with a newfound sense of peace and purpose.The second chapter, Leos Carax's "Merde," follows the debased exploits of an unsightly subterranean creature (Denis Lavant) who emerges from the Tokyo sewers to taunt and torment the unsuspecting denizens of the city. Stealing cash, pilfering cigarettes, frightening old ladies, and even going so far as to salaciously lick schoolgirls, the gibberish-spewing troublemaker dubbed Merde sparks a media frenzy that sends all of Tokyo into a panic. The situation spirals as Merde discovers an arsenal of hand grenades in his underground lair, and begins throwing them in the streets at will, creating an environment of total urban terror. Later, Merde is apprehended and pompous French magistrate Maître Voland (Jean-François Balmer) arrives to defend the deviant in a Japanese court. The only person capable of speaking his client's unintelligible language, Voland stands at the center of a media circus that soon engulfs all of Japan. When Merde is convicted by the court and sentenced to death, justice takes a turn for the surreal.The trilogy winds to a close with Bong Joon-ho's "Shaking Tokyo," in which a reclusive pizza addict who hasn't left his apartment in over a decade falls for a pretty delivery girl at the very same moment an earthquake hits Japan. A so-called hikikomori who never dares venture outside, the lonely shut-in (Teruyuki Kagawa) subsists almost solely on pizza delivery. When a beautiful delivery girl shows up at his door and promptly faints when the ground begins to shake, it's love at first sight. Later, the agoraphobic man discovers that the object of his affections has become a hikikomori herself, and boldly ventures out of his apartment in order to declare his love. The moment he sets eyes on her, the ground starts to rumble once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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68% liked it

11,399 ratings

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73% liked it

66 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Joon-ho Bong

Release Date: May 14, 2008

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DVD Release Date: June 30, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (567)

  • 366weirdmovies
    May 23, 2010
    366weirdmovies
    Since Paris has an anthology film on the theme of love, Tokyo gets one on the theme of weirdness, from Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho. Three segments: the girlfriend of an experimental filmmaker feels useless until she undergoes an inexplicable metamorphosis; a sham... read morebling man-creature named Merde rises from the sewers to wreak havoc on Tokyo; a shut-in falls for a girl with buttons tattooed on her body. The best segment by a wide margin is Carax's "Merde": genuinely funny, it's like one of those experimental Saturday Night Live sketches about an uncomfortably strange character who harasses the people around him, except it doesn't grow wearisome after two minutes.
  • romy861
    May 30, 2009
    romy861
    Loved the first of these three short stories, third one was pretty good also. Second one... well... not to say it was a bad short film, but it certainly left me cold and I could do without ever seeing it again.
  • gator681
    April 30, 2010
    gator681
    "Tokyo!" is an uneven triptych of short films set in the title city with an emphasis on urban angst, following a thematic progression. All are made by non-natives, Michel Gondry(Interior Design), Leos Carax(Merde) and Bong Joon-ho(Shaking Tokyo). The middle section is the worst... read more and at times unwatchable, and does nothing to change my already negative opinion of Leos Carax.

    In "Interior Design," Akira(Ryo Kase), a neophyte filmmaker in town to present a film, and his girlfriend Hiroko(Ayako Fujitani), crash at their friend Akemi's(Ayumi Ito) cramped apartment, promising that it will only be until they can find an apartment of their own. That does not turn out to be as easy as it sounds, as they also have to worry about finding jobs and a parking space. And then things get weird. If that is not bad enough, in "Merde," a savage man(Denis Lavant) is a nuisance to pedestrians. Things get worse when he locates a cache of grenades from World War II. At which point, it is perfectly understandable if you just want to stay inside all of the time which a man(Teruyuki Kagawa) has been doing for the past eleven years in "Shaking Tokyo," keeping his garbage very, very tidy. He remains isolated from his fellow human beings until he makes a connection with a pizza delivery girl(Yu Aoi) by pressing some of her buttons.
  • lesleyanorton
    August 21, 2011
    lesleyanorton
    Seems like everyone rates these 3 mini-films differently, so my rating is .... Carax one star, Gondry two stars and Bong three stars and none of em worth much jumping up and down about unless your name's Zebedee.
  • movieguyryan
    May 13, 2009
    movieguyryan
    While there is some things to like in these three short films that take place in Tokyo, especially in Gondry's short, there is no need to rush and watch as soon as possible. You may find some of the shorts drag a little too much and unlike other films consisting of many shorts su... read morech as Paris, je t'aime, you have to wait around 30 minutes for the next short to start as opposed to a little under 10 minutes.
  • cacutshaw
    September 20, 2009
    cacutshaw
    Truth be told, I fully expected to dislike this film. I've never been much of a Gondrey fan, so that was playing against it, and I actually had no idea Bong Joon-ho did a segment (to my eternal shame, though I sure perked up when his name appeared in the credits). Colour me sur... read moreprised when I loved the film (I believe surprise is a light shade of blue). Gondrey's entry was quite excellent, showcasing Steven Seagal's daughter as a Japanese youth who has no idea what she wants to do. The middle segment was entertaining, possibly a little long in tooth, seemingly dealing with Japan's feelings towards outsiders and immigrants (for a good film about that see The World Sinks Except Japan). For a film that starts out with the Godzilla theme I expected to like it way more. The stand out segment is, of course, Bong Joon-ho's masterful "Shaking Tokyo" about loneliness in the big, overcrowded city.
    All in all, this is a very rewarding experience and particularly good for those who love the surreal.
  • zdravkoduck
    April 27, 2009
    zdravkoduck
    Being new to the "stories set in one place mini-movies" I was excited my first one was going to be a place I've always wanted to go to...then again I've always wanted to go to New York & Paris. They should make a "Bosnia, Fuck You"..anyways digressing as usual. The concept of th... read moreese kind of movies is what makes me curious to see them the most. Everyone has a different way of looking at things. Heres my review though. Go see it. Michel Gondry's was my favorite, not knocking the other two in fact the last one was great.. the french a little on the i need to be on shrooms to understand it side... all in all these movies are worth a second look.
  • nanobwitch
    October 1, 2010
    nanobwitch
    one of the most disturbing...crazy...nonsence...brilliant...amazing..mond-boggling films i've ever seen. i dont even know hw to begin describing this movie....i just loved it! i'll watch it again and again and im gonna show whoever would like it.
  • hayneslauren
    October 19, 2009
    hayneslauren
    Quite possibly one of the weirdest films I have ever seen in my life. I feel useful because now I am a chair...
  • iamthethinman
    August 16, 2009
    iamthethinman
    Well, if it wasn?t for the middle story, this movie would be a near masterpiece. I almost want to just talk about how the middle story started off very exciting in tone and vision, then seemed to stink it up (no pun intended). And it seemed so long, but wasn?t much longer than th... read moree others. That almost ruins the movie. That bad segment takes so much away from the beauty of the other two. But?

    Gondry?s piece is better than Science of Sleep and Rewind. It shows that he can capture emotions like he did in Eternal Sunshine. And, of course, a great technically brilliant visual piece to it all. And the last one, I?ve seen this guy?s other two big movies, and I am very impressed with him. This story had so many cuts and angles and kept is all fresh. Creative lighting and create perspective of an empty Tokyo. It reminded me of Kairo. The VO work by the actor is brilliant (though I don?t understand Japanese), and just great overall, so I can?t wait to see him in Tokyo Sonata. Both of these two, great ? great ?great.

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Critic Reviews

Jason Anderson
June 5, 2009
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star

Paris, New York and even Toronto have all gotten their due in a recent wave of city-centric omnibus films that let world-renowned auteurs run wild in their streets. Yet none of these yielded anything ... Full Review

Kate Taylor
June 5, 2009
Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail

Perhaps it is inevitable as three foreign directors train their lenses on that unique island culture of the East that all three are propelled by fantasy or science fiction, and suggest more alienation... Full Review

Colin Covert
April 23, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Overall, Tokyo! is two-thirds of a good movie. Full Review

Philip Kennicott
April 9, 2009
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post

All three films deal with things hidden, or disappearing, or suppressed. But Tokyo, if anything, becomes more of a mystery after Tokyo! than it was before. Full Review

Steven Rea
April 9, 2009
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Tokyo! is a must-see for the Gondry segment, and a strange, diverting pleasure for the rest. Full Review

Ty Burr
April 9, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

If you've seen Paris, je t'aime or New York Stories, you know the rate of return on these urban omnibuses is variable, and so it is here. Go in expecting minor pleasures and you'll be fine. Full Review

Reyhan Harmanci
March 20, 2009
Reyhan Harmanci, San Francisco Chronicle

The overall project succeeds at offering three tantalizing films for the price of one movie ticket. Full Review

Mark Olsen
March 20, 2009
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

By turns playful and melancholy, provocative and sentimental, all three of the shorts that make up Tokyo! seem like direct responses to the city itself as well as being jumping-off points for each dir... Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 12, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Three directors, three films, three reasons to rethink moving to Tokyo. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
March 6, 2009
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

Isn't likely to make many best-of-2009 lists, but its originality in an era of cookie-cutter moviemaking is greatly appreciated. Full Review

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