Finally, I went to see a movie today (with a fellow random mate, Zita)! We went to see "Tokyo!" "Tokyo!" made us happy, confused, sad, touched.. and scared! "Tokyo!" comprises of 3 short films based in Tokyo: one by Michel Gondry (yay!), one by Leon Carax (not sure about his works) and finally one by Bong Joon-ho (the Host director). Out of the three, I found the Michel Gondry one the most enjoyable! First of all, Michel Gondry's short film was titled "Interior Design", and it told a story of a couple who was moving into Tokyo.. and was temporarily staying in their friend's one room house. One was unemployed, one was a (pathetic) filmmaker. Anyway, I found the storyline the most touching and logic out of the lot (though in first place you must overcome your logic to appreciate this short film). Michel used a very fitting metaphorism to describe how the girl feels and what she wants to be. Some people may find it very random, but once you see past that, you will be touched by this short film :) It's more of dramatic Gondry, not a whimsical Gondry sort.
The second short film was by Leon Carax, titled "Mendre", which turned out to be the name of the protagonist of this short film. The protagonist is a psycho and he lives in Tokyo's sewers, and likes to come out of his sewers to terrorise Tokyo habitants. It is quite funny how some of the props reminds me or represents to me something else, like the leprechaun coat that the psycho wore represents how the people in general don't notice him at first.. and when he starts to do the weird things and terrorise people he becomes more visible to the people in general! Towards the end, the story gets draggier.. and scarier somewhat haha. This is my least favourite shorts out of the 3, because I felt the story should be more precise.
The final short film was by Bong Joon-ho, titled "Shaking Tokyo", which is on the hikikomori phenomenon, where people choose to seclude themselves from the society and confine themselves in their homes. I can somewhat relate to "Shaking Tokyo", on how the world becomes more and more individualist and gradually loses its idealism, and only when major events take place (ie the earthquakes in the movie) then these people connect with the world they live in again, albeit temporarily. The short film was beautifully shot, and I found the washed out scene as the protagonist emerges from his home particularly beautiful! And I really really am fascinated with the empty Shibuya crossroad scenes. How much did they pay to stop the traffic? That scene was really really mystifying.. and terrifying in some ways.
It is really interesting how different directors are inspired in different ways by a city. Except for Michel Gondry's short, this movie doesn't really make me so eager with visiting Tokyo as much as Lost in Translation. But, that is not the point right? :)
The second short film was by Leon Carax, titled "Mendre", which turned out to be the name of the protagonist of this short film. The protagonist is a psycho and he lives in Tokyo's sewers, and likes to come out of his sewers to terrorise Tokyo habitants. It is quite funny how some of the props reminds me or represents to me something else, like the leprechaun coat that the psycho wore represents how the people in general don't notice him at first.. and when he starts to do the weird things and terrorise people he becomes more visible to the people in general! Towards the end, the story gets draggier.. and scarier somewhat haha. This is my least favourite shorts out of the 3, because I felt the story should be more precise.
The final short film was by Bong Joon-ho, titled "Shaking Tokyo", which is on the hikikomori phenomenon, where people choose to seclude themselves from the society and confine themselves in their homes. I can somewhat relate to "Shaking Tokyo", on how the world becomes more and more individualist and gradually loses its idealism, and only when major events take place (ie the earthquakes in the movie) then these people connect with the world they live in again, albeit temporarily. The short film was beautifully shot, and I found the washed out scene as the protagonist emerges from his home particularly beautiful! And I really really am fascinated with the empty Shibuya crossroad scenes. How much did they pay to stop the traffic? That scene was really really mystifying.. and terrifying in some ways.
It is really interesting how different directors are inspired in different ways by a city. Except for Michel Gondry's short, this movie doesn't really make me so eager with visiting Tokyo as much as Lost in Translation. But, that is not the point right? :)
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