Tôkyô! 2008

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The entries aren't equally strong, of course, but each comes from a sharp outsider's perspective, approaching Tokyo as a strange, mysterious organism that infects the populace. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: If you've seen Paris, je t'aime or New York Stories, you know the rate of return on these urban omnibuses is variable, and so it is here. Go in expecting minor pleasures and you'll be fine. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: To each, the metropolis is a dense atom; its inhabitants, electrons crammed together but straining to avoid collision. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: By turns playful and melancholy, provocative and sentimental, all three of the shorts that make up Tokyo! seem like direct responses to the city itself as well as being jumping-off points for each director's personal quirks. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: With Tokyo itself playing a varied role in each film, the setting clearly served its purpose, inspiring three decidedly unique points of view. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Isn't likely to make many best-of-2009 lists, but its originality in an era of cookie-cutter moviemaking is greatly appreciated. Read more

Nathan Lee, New York Times: For the new omnibus feature Tokyo!, Bong Joon-ho, Leos Carax and Michel Gondry were invited to make a film in the Japanese capital. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: The cumulative strangeness of Tokyo! is consistent with the previous eccentricities of the three directors, and is well worth the time of any moviegoer looking for something different in their movie diet. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Tokyo! is a must-see for the Gondry segment, and a strange, diverting pleasure for the rest. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Three directors, three films, three reasons to rethink moving to Tokyo. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: The refusal of Tokyo! to proffer even the most perfunctory air kiss is what makes it so intriguing. Read more

Reyhan Harmanci, San Francisco Chronicle: The overall project succeeds at offering three tantalizing films for the price of one movie ticket. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Overall, Tokyo! is two-thirds of a good movie. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Although each portion of Tokyo! has a distinct flavor, this sampler of undercooked fish stories has a cumulative effect, one that is trippy if not toxic. Read more

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. Read more

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! Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: An uneven but enjoyable trio of films that take affectionate (and sometimes literal) aim at the Japanese capital. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Mutants abound as each episode trips the light fantastic. Read more

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: All three films deal with things hidden, or disappearing, or suppressed. But Tokyo, if anything, becomes more of a mystery after Tokyo! than it was before. Read more