Wow! Such a good movie.

Wonderful character development!

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

How is it possible that this movie has such a high rating. I wanted to poke my eyes out just so that it would end. This was torture. Please, will someone make it end. I hated it. Could you tell? The first story was unbearably boring. The second story was not only boring but confusing. The third story was boring, confusing, and stupid. Is that enough? Apparently not as so many have returned to this piece of dung for entertainment purposes. Do yourself a favor and rent free willy 2. It has much more entertainment value and it is a piece of crap. This movie was recommended through netflix automatic recommendation system. What a freaking joke? What about my past ratings suggest I would enjoy watching grass grow?

"Tokyo!" is a film about 3 different stories that take place in Tokyo and each story is made by different directors.Michel Gondry's "Interior Design" was surreal but also something some people can relate with. It's about a girl who has no ambitions in life and doesn't stand for herself and always gets the help from others. It's not that she doesn't want to be useful, she just has a difficult time with time trying to find her purpose in the world. But a drastic change takes place in her life. It felt it added a nice touch to Japanese life style and culture although some may disagree.Leos Carax's "Merde" was disappointing and the story was boring and it felt the director wasn't even trying. The plot could have taken place else where cause it really has nothing to do with Tokyo or even has the atmosphere to it.Bong Joon-Ho's "Shaking Tokyo" was the best out of the 3, it seems like for films like this they always show the best for last. It's about Teruyuki Kagawa who is a hikikomori who never steps foot outside, but that changes when he meets a pretty pizza delivery girl but in the process he accidentally inspires her to be a hikikomori herself, so from than on it's about a hikikomori falling for another hikikomori. I liked the style of this part of the film, it explored some of the characteristic in japan and the director seems to have done his research. I also fell for the actress who played pizza delivery girl Aoi Yu, maybe it's cause of her innocent and pretty looks although it's my first time seeing her in a film.I give the film a 6.8/10 and if the second part of the film was good it would have been higher.6.8/10

Full-length feature films that are really just compilations of shorter movies - usually revolving around a single topic or theme - tend not to work out all that well in the long one. Either the limited running time afforded to each individual story results in characters and plot lines that are too sketchy and underdeveloped to fully capture our interest, or the quality of each individual part varies so wildly that the movie as a whole fails to satisfy. After "Paris je t'amie" a few years back and "Tokyo!" now, it would appear that, at some point, every "exotic" city will have a multi-part cinematic valentine to call its own. And whereas "Paris, je t'aime," not surprisingly, applied a romantic patina to its setting, "Tokyo!," also not surprisingly, has opted for a more sci-fi and metaphysical-oriented approach in exploring its locale. In the first tale, "Interior Design," directed by Michel Gondy, Akira and Hiroki are a young couple who have come to the city to look for work and a place to live. He's an avant garde filmmaker, she his part time assistant and fulltime girlfriend. The movie deals with the tension that develops between not only Akira and Hiroki over finances and their future together but between the couple and the female friend whose cramped apartment they're all staying in at the moment. Then, just at the point where all is beginning to seem hopeless, Hiroki involuntarily turns into a chair. You were expecting something different, perhaps? "Interior Design," is of interest primarily in the way that it goes from the prosaic to the surreal without the slightest transition or warning. It's amusing to watch as the characters' lives suddenly come to parallel the movies he makes and the imaginative scenarios they are constantly playing out in their relationship. That one of those scenarios suddenly turns out to be real - or is it? - is all just a part of the game. The second episode, "Merde," directed by Leos Carax, is even more over-the-edge in its content than "Interior Design." Denis Lavant plays a grizzled sort of man/creature in a green suit who emerges periodically from his home in the sewers to terrorize the understandably distraught citizens who inhabit the world above. Unsure of how to cope with such a menace, the Japanese government calls in a French lawyer with a goatee that perfectly matches the creature's to help with the crisis. Unfortunately, this highly stylized segment becomes a grueling, heavy-handed polemic against racism, xenophobia and capital punishment, devoid of charm, grace or even a modicum of entertainment value. Luckily, in terms of quality, things pick up considerably with "Shaking Tokyo," easily the best of the bunch in both consistency and style. Imaginatively directed by Bong Joon-ho, "Shaking Tokyo" is a lyrical and poetic tale of a "hikikomori" - a person with a pathological phobia of leaving the house - who has to figure out what to do when he falls in love with a woman who, after meeting him once, turns into a hikikomori herself. Thus, as with many of these omnibus movie packages, "Tokyo!" becomes, ultimately, a thing of bits and pieces, of two episodes that work and one that doesn't (not a bad ratio as these things go, actually). My advice, therefore, would be to watch parts one and three and skip part two altogether.

First I'd like to mention that I disagree with the comparison between 'Tokyo!' and 'Paris, je t'aime'. Yes they are both triptych films, but the similarities end there. The film sits more comfortably alongside triptych films such as: Three... Extremes (Horror) and Eros (Love and Sex). If you want to see something like 'Paris, je t'aime' you won't find it here. With that being said--on to the review.(Spoilers Start Here)The first of the trio of short films start's with 'Interior Design' directed by Michel Gondrey. I won't give to much away (for those that haven't seen it) but the film deals with being made to feel useless, in a society that values vocation/social status above a persons true value.If you're a fan of Gondrey, then this is a must see. The film itself felt like it came up a little short (no pun intended) of Gondrey's usual work. But, the ending of the film makes up for the films flaws/short comings. ***6 out of 10 stars***Second of these three films is 'Merde' by director Leos Carax (of whom I haven't seen any of his previous films). Merde is a very baffling and funny film about a man (Merde) with a red beard, one milky eye, very long fingernails and green suit. Merde comes out of the sewers every so often and terrorizes the citizens of Japan, he speaks his own language and no one knows where he comes from. Basically the film follows Merde through his capture and trail in the Japanese courts. I can't say that I loved this film, but what I can say, is that I found myself laughing throughout this absurd piece of art and... in spite of myself I couldn't take my eyes of the screen. ***7 out of 10 stars****Finally, the last film of this trio is 'Shaking Tokyo' by director Joon-ho Bong. The film centers around the bizarre Japanese phenomenon of hikikomori: people that choose to become hermits because of their inability to deal with social pressure. The film follows one such hikikomori that thinks he may have found his true love. The twist is that he must face his fears and leave his house to find her and stop her from becoming a hikikomori herself.Of the three shorts in 'Tokyo!' I liked 'Shaking Tokyo' most. I'd seen Joon-ho Bong's 'The Host' and really didn't like it, but he's won me back with this little jewel of a film. He really has a gift with taking things of cultural significance and making them interesting (Host included). The characters of 'Shaking Tokyo' are beautifully written and acted. It has more of a complete story arc than the other two films as well. And, I felt that it is the only of the three that I would have enjoyed as a full length feature film. For me this one makes 'Tokyo!' even worth having in my DVD collection. ****9 out of 10 stars*****Overall, if you're looking for a excursion into the strange, funny and thought provoking, this film is for you. There's something for everybody to like here. Also, if you enjoyed this film I'd suggest watching 'Eros' and 'Three Extremes' as well.