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Tokyo!

Play trailer Poster for Tokyo! Released Mar 6, 2009 1h 50m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 66 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde (Ayumi Ito), a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man (Denis Lavant) who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple (Ryô Kase, Ayako Fujitani) find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
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Tokyo!

Tokyo!

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Critics Consensus

An imaginative, if uneven, love letter to a city that signals a great creative enterprise by its three contributing directors.

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Critics Reviews

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Nicolas Rapold Film Comment Magazine Gondry, Carax, and Bong work up three riffs not on Tokyo but on "Tokyo"-all reasonably diverting and offering distinctive curlicues on the title's exclamation point. Oct 20, 2014 Full Review Jason Anderson Toronto Star Paris, New York and even Toronto have all gotten their due in a recent wave of city-centric omnibus films that let world-renowned auteurs run wild in their streets. Yet none of these yielded anything as strange or as idiosyncratic as Tokyo! Rated: 3/4 Jun 5, 2009 Full Review Kate Taylor Globe and Mail Perhaps it is inevitable as three foreign directors train their lenses on that unique island culture of the East that all three are propelled by fantasy or science fiction, and suggest more alienation from Tokyo than affection for the great city. Rated: 3/4 Jun 5, 2009 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews My problem is that even though the three weird stories are intriguing and of interest in their own right, but when compiled as one film they seemed undeveloped. Rated: C+ Nov 9, 2011 Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express All three screenplays were probably composed on the plane to Japan. With any luck, this trend will die out. Aug 16, 2011 Full Review Sonny Bunch Washington Times If Tokyo! has a unifying idea, it's the devastating effect loneliness has on the psyche, an interesting choice given Tokyo's status as one of the world's densest cities. Rated: 2.5/4 Aug 30, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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g j Boring, annoying and mostly pointless, albeit somewhat offset by a solid and fairly poignant third chapter. The second piece in particular made me want to gouge my eyes out. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/15/25 Full Review JeeHwan L Michel 2.5 stars, Bong 3 stars, Leos 4.5 stars Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/02/23 Full Review S. C Trio of short movies taking place in Tokyo with each having strong themes behind them, it is quiet entertaining. It makes you think, not only because of the artistic portrayal but also because of the subliminal commentary. Michel Gondry's film. I loved the sets and their design. The acting is pretty neat. The authentic script really shines through it all. Nice score. Some nice cinematography and editing. Unexpected and creative at the end but still wholesome. Very well paced and structured. Loved how everything got build up from beginning to end. It's really good, and it even has the potential to be turned into a feature length movie when interpreting the ending in a less metaphorical but in a more realistic way. However the chair transformation works perfectly in this short. 9/10. Leos Carax' film. I liked some of the performances a lot. Sometimes very humourous. The cinematography is pretty good. Some nice editing. Loved the comparison to Godzilla and its references, even some noticable during the court scene in the microphone distortion. That sound effect was flawlessly built in. Such a plot and concept was very new to me. Refreshing. It got lots of energy and suspense. Mysteriously written lead character but the writing behind the character remains clear. A stingingly controversial yet harshly truthful message delivered. 7/10. Bong Joon-Ho's film. Incredible. Lots of attention to detail. Love the sets and the use of light. Great performance. Well done cinematography. Lovely score. I liked the narration. It was a wonderful little story. It was very relatable, as I am someone with similar troubles. It captures and knows how to present the struggles of such a person very well, and sometimes even without directly telling us with words. For example the sunlight being so exaggeratingly bright to the point that it looks dangerous.... The lead role having to process the interaction he just had for quite some time... Him getting really nervous and insecure as he goes out. It was all crafted with passion. Essentially the ending was very heartwarming. 9/10. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/12/25 Full Review dave s Tokyo! is a complex film dealing with the issues of isolation, dehumanization , love, and sundry other items, all with vibrant Tokyo as the backdrop. The movie, a triptych similar to New York Stories, is directed by Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Leos Carax (Holy Motors), and Bong Joon-ho (Parasite), each handling a different segment, none of which are related, of the film. Each director puts his personal touch and applies his style to their segment with varying levels of success. Many viewers will no doubt be turned off by the surreal nature of each chapter and this is understandable, but for those willing to stick with it until the end, Bong Joon-ho's segment will leave the audience with a sense of hope and optimism, despite all that came before. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review nefasto r As a triptic, I just have to consider each part separatly: - Gondry: 3.5 Stars, good, interesting and peculiar. - Carax: 1.5 Stars, skip it. - Joon Ho: 4 Stars, the best story for the best director. The simplest and yet most powerful of the 3 parts. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member That was extremely weird but enjoyable. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde (Ayumi Ito), a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man (Denis Lavant) who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple (Ryô Kase, Ayako Fujitani) find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
Director
Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon Ho
Producer
Michiko Yoshitake
Screenwriter
Michel Gondry, Gabrielle Bell, Leos Carax, Bong Joon Ho
Distributor
Vitagraph Films
Production Co
Liberation Entertainment, Bitters End, Coin Film, Arte France Cinema
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 6, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 6, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$351.1K
Runtime
1h 50m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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