A Variety report from Cannes has one of the first reviews of “Tokyo!” – the three-tiered vignette film featuring directors Michel Gondry, Joon-ho Bong and Leos Carax (his first film since 1999’s “Pola X,” a movie scored by the great Scott Walker).
The review says the film is “uneven, but enjoyable and likens it to a “nastier Eastern sibling to ‘Paris, Je T’aime,’ ” (another vignettes film released last year).
“First and arguably best of the bunch is Gondry’s deviously titled “Interior Design,” which opens on a dark and stormy night as young, self-deluded aspiring filmmaker Akira (Ryo Kase) and his supportive but directionless g.f. Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) arrive in Tokyo. Gondry handles the light intrusion of Cronenbergian body-horror with minimal f/x and old-fashioned visual sleight-of-hand, keeping his camera focused on Fujitani’s engaging performance. The Gallic helmer may have a reputation for dazzling directorial whimsy, but his restraint pays off here in a work at once poignant and slyly Kafka-esque.”
