Fantastic Fest 2008

Brief Summary:
An anthology of three 30-minute short films, all reflections on Tokyo by three non-Japanese directors. Michel Gondry’s INTERIOR DESIGN, Bong Joon-Ho’s SHAKING TOKYO and Leos Carax’s MERDE.

Full Description:
Viva punk cinema! Its spirit is alive and well in the form of TOKYO!, a new anthology film comprised of three 30-minute shorts made by 3 non-Japanese auteurs. These brief movies celebrate the life and energy of Tokyo in much the same way Richard Linklater explored Austin with SLACKER, albeit in their own unique disparate ways and voices. Packed with exploding Sogo Ishii energy and reckless punk abandon, each short feels as if Wong Kar Wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS were re-imagined and reset in Tokyo, with a lot more mischief. That a film about a city many of us may never set foot in could be the most moving film of 2008 only reminds me even more so that the magic of cinema is universal. Each short represents daring artistic statements void of commercial pandering and should be a welcome ride for filmgoers looking for something alive and fresh.

Merde
Merde is French for shit, but this short is anything but that. Nothing can prepare you for this assault by French Arthouse director Leos Caraz. It's a film that comes at you 900 miles a second, slapping you each step of the way with an orgy of rebellion and farce. Living in an age when we are supposed to tread lightly and be afraid of everything, it feels damn near cathartic to get an anti-hero in the form of pissed-off wild child Merde. Dressed in an ill-fitting green thrift-store suit with uncombed hair and speaking a foreign language that is far removed from any spoken anywhere on Earth, he embarks each day from random sewer points and heckles the living crap out of everything in his path as he steals passerby's cigarettes, flowers and cell phones. He even tips over baby carts. Soon he has the whole city of Tokyo living on eggshells and fearful of where he will pop up next as he becomes both a media sensation and demon all at once. Things take a sharp and insane turn when Merde suddenly discovers a forgotten World War II arsenal in the sewer. From here on out Tokyo will never be the same. Viva Merde!

Shaking Tokyo
With SHAKING TOKYO Bong Joon-Ho seems to be running in the complete opposite direction of the kinetic monster mayhem of THE HOST towards a more intimately felt and explored tale. The jolts of action in this segment are few and far between, but don't let that put you off, as this quiet gem has more silent energy and life than most feature length films. A nameless "hikikomori" played by Teruyuki Kagawa (who stole the show in Miike's recent Spaghetti Western SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO) has been hidden away for 10 years, quietly enjoying the simple things in life like visits to the bathroom, pizza boxes and more. The hikikomori are defined as those who alienate themselves from all contacts with society and live in their own self-created jungles of isolation and darkness. In SHAKING TOKYO it takes an earthquake and a pizza delivery girl's love to wake Teruyuki Kagawa up from his reclusive slumber.

Interior Design
Like SHAKING TOKYO, this segment is a reminder that having our worlds shaken up isn't always a bad thing, as it forces us to more with less. That certainly is the case here as a homeless couple (played in top form by Ayako Fujitani and Ryo Kase of FUNKY FOREST) are unable to make ends meet and are forced to crash at a friends place, an efficiency apartment where they are all crammed into the same room. Ryo plays a burgeoning up and coming experimental filmmaker (with suitably Gondryan ideas) looking to make his big break. As his chances to make it big seem bleak, he takes a job wrapping presents to try and save up enough to break out of his friend's place. Meanwhile his girlfriend Ayako explores suitable living spaces of all types within Tokyo. Each one seems more bizarre and unsuitable than the previous one. This might seem very much like a routine tale of a young couple trying to make ends meet, but with Gondry behind the wheel, INTERIOR DESIGN slowly but surely blurs the line between fantasy and reality. As the fantasy void of all too obvious CGI starts crashing into this short frame it spirals into a dizzying Gondry love letter to both Tokyo and aspiring artists and lovers throughout the world. (Blake Ethridge)