Tokyo! (2008)

dir. Michel Gondry (Interior Design), Leos Carax (Merde), Bong Joon-Ho (Shaking Tokyo)
writ. Gabrielle Bell (graphic novel "Cecil and Jordan in New York" for ID), Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-Ho
feat. Denis Lavant (ID), see imdb

I can't help going into an anthology film expecting about 5% of worthwhile material, such projects generally the depository for filmmakers' experiments, ideas and methods without the backing of enough confidence to warrant a feature. Tokyo! is therefore a pleasant surprise, a cohesive triptych of uneasy tales by highly inventive directors inspired by that city.

Gondry kicks it off with his adaptation of a story from a graphic novel (the source actually set in NYC) that follows a young couple struggling to survive in an expensive often alienating city. Twists arise unexpectedly, taking a magically surreal turn reminiscent of an Etgar Keret short story. A transformation from human to inanimate object plays more naturally than one could dream and the metaphorical underpinnings of the sad and sweet finale resonate like a short written work at its most effective.

Carax's entry follows with the explosive introduction of Merde (Lavant), a filthy wild man rising up out of a manhole to race through the streets, terrorizing the public by pushing, shoving, kissing and being a general nuisance. It's quickly revealed that he's a known celebrity, renowned and ogled for his madcap, largely harmless if misanthropic behavior. Excited teenagers rejoice for having made contact with the mysterious underworld figure. The tone shifts dramatically as the playful fellow turns violent, launching grenades through the city as casually as he speed-walked previously. He is promptly caught and put on trial, the only person in the world who speaks his moaning, nonsense language brought in as his lawyer.

Up to this moment, the story is riveting, fast and furious, relentlessly engaging and doggedly captivating. Then something dies, the trial and the amusement of the filmmakers by these overwrought exchanges of groans and contortions bogging down the short (and the full film), bringing it to a standstill, with nearly zero progress for 10 to 15 minutes. Yes, it's funny for a couple minutes, but then simply long and painful. A slight recovery comes at the end, promising future adventures, though such damage is done that it's hard to wish for more.

Finally, Bong Joon-Ho (Mother, The Host, Memories of Murder) brings his trademarked blend of humor and ill ease to the city, tracking a man who never leaves the house and his unexpected attraction to a delivery girl who passes out in his pad during an earthquake. The shaking up of lives and the mysteries of other people and outside one's door are explored without suggesting aphorisms or easy solutions, a trembling and satisfying comment on city life as well as an appropriately inconclusive conclusion to the full film.