The final film, Bong’s Shaking Tokyo is much more akin to Gondry’s than Carax’s. It explores the life of a hikikomori — a person who lives in voluntary extreme isolation. This man (Teruyuki Kagawa) hasn’t left his house in over a decade, and it’s full of immaculately ordered signs of indicating that, things like empty toilet paper rolls and empty pizza boxes stacked to the ceiling.
His first eye contact with another person in years comes courtesy of a pizza delivery girl (Yû Aoi), and things start to get shaken up in his life. Richly symbolic, Shaking Tokyo works so well for a lot of the same reasons as Interior Design — the pacing is similarly excellent and the atmosphere of loneliness is tangible.
There’s a lot to like about each one of these films, and while Gondry's will probably attract the most attention, it’s well worth it to experience the other two.
The Blu-ray Disc
Tokyo! is presented in 1080p high definition with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The films all look great, especially considering the heavy shadows present in each one. Definition remains true and sharp even in the frequent dark scenes. The color palette is fairly muted in the first two, and a little more vibrant in the last, and both colors and blacks look rich.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, and most of the time it’s a fairly straightforward front channel affair, although there are occasions for rumble in the last two films. The dialogue is in both Japanese and French with optional English subtitles.
Special Features
Each film is given an in-depth look with a making-of featurette almost as long as the films themselves. In addition to the 30-minute making-of pieces, additional director interviews are collected on a separate featurette. Altogether, the extras represent a thorough look at the process behind the films. A photo gallery and trailer are also included.
The Bottom Line
Tokyo! brings more to the table than a typical film anthology — each film is given time to develop, resulting in substantial works that are though-provoking and delightful. It’s highly recommended.
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