TOKYO!

"do we shape cities? ... or do cities shape us?"

In TOKYO!, three of the world's greatest filmmakers come together for an omnibus triptych examining the nature of one unforgettable city as it's shaped by the disparate people who live, work (and even run amok!) inside one enormous, constantly evolving, densely populated Japanese megalopolis - the ravishing and inimitable Tokyo.

Triptych, rhapsody, psycho-geography, omnibus, urban valentine, freak show, mind-walk and many other things, TOKYO! is a fantasy in three movements that will make you see one of the world's greatest cities - if not any city - in unpredictable new ways.

3 films, one each by michel gondry, leos carax, and bong joon-ho are consolidated into a single cinematic tour-de-force, capturing a plethora of amazing images in one of the most dense and dizzying cities in the world. each film is a critical analysis of how the city's inhabitants interact with the spaces around them.

still from the film "interior design" by michel gondry

interior design [gondry] tells of a destitute young couple trying to make it in the hyperactive city, while at the same time skipping from hovel to hovel in search of a place to call their own. their relationship is tested and the film takes a candid look at how humans are affected by the quality of their environment.

stills from the film "merde" by leos carax

merde [carax] is a wildly terrifying story of a man who surfaces on the streets of tokyo from his home in the sewers to wreak havoc on all of city's inhabitants. he terrorizes young and old without prejudice, smells awful and speaks in gibberish that only one man, a lawyer, seems to understand. when an arsenal of weapons is found in the strange man's underground lair, the trial of the century begins with the unique lawyer defending the creature and ends with a strange twist of justice.

stills from the film "shaking tokyo" by bong joon-ho

shaking tokyo [joon-ho] is a story of a young shut-in, or hikkomori, who has remained in solace for 10 years. he survives on pizza, and has brief conversations with his delivery people. one day a new delivery girl comes to his door, and the city is hit by a large earthquake, causing the girl to faint and recover in the shut-in's apartment. in this short duration, he falls hopelessly in love and as time passes, our protagonist hears through another delivery person that the girl has also turned to the hikkomori lifestyle. realizing that she is his soul mate, he makes the courageous leap in leaving his apartment to find her just as another earthquake strikes.

Tokyo from John Aubrey on Vimeo.

Now playing in denver at the mayan theater.
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