Tokyo Eyes

[thomas]

I just happened to watch "Tokyo Eyes", a French-Japanese coproduction that was also nominated at the Cannes Film festival in 1998. Has anyone seen that movie already? A lovely Hinano Yoshikawa starring with Shinji Takeda and Beat Takeshi in a very small role. I wouldn't call it a thriller as some of the reviews below do, but it certainly had a melodramatic touch.

Some links:

TOKYO EYES

web.archive.org

Vid kid

"Tokyo Eyes" is the strange story of a mysterious young man with a video camera and a gun who puts on blurry glasses and fires inaccurately at strangers.

"Tokyo Eyes" dovetails twin themes of crime story and young romance as played out in the streets of the Japanese city that gives the film its title. In this intricate film, a mysterious young man (played by Shinji Takeda) who goes by the name "K" prowls around Tokyo with a digital camera and a gun. When he finds a target, he dons glasses that blur his vision and fires at his victim, missing every time.

Written and directed by: Jean-Pierre Limosin.
Cast: Shinji Takeda, Hinano Yoshikawa, Kaori Mizushima, Tetta Sugimoto.
In Japanese with English subtitles.

The newspapers track his string of crimes, calling him "four eyes." Hinano (Hinano Yoshikawa), the 17-year-old sister of the detective who is on the case, spots the unusual young man on a subway and the next day calls in sick to the beauty parlour where she works in order to try to find him.

Enlisting the help of her sympathetic boss and armed with a video camera, she finds K in the backyard of a building located down a winding street. The chemistry between them is undeniable and what unfolds is very much like a Japanese interpretation of Godard's film "Breathless," in which two young lovers under the shadow of crime play out their romance against the backdrop of a great city. But unlike "Breathless," where the trouble for the star couple increases as the film proceeds, things for Hinano and K actually turn sunnier as their love blooms.

Takeshi Kitano makes a brief appearance as the gangster who lent K his gun. There are charming scenes of tenderness between Hinano and K, especially when she performs her first haircut on him (after which Takeda bears a striking resemblance to Depeche Mode's singer Dave Gahan), they dance on the subway, and he removes a foreign object from her eye with his tongue. A lyrical cinematic sonnet on youth and romance, "Tokyo Eyes" will make you want to fall in love.

* OFFOFFOFF film review TOKYO EYES Japanese movie by Jean-Pierre Limosin with Shinji Takeda, Hinano Yoshikawa, Kaori Mizushima, Tetta Sugimoto written by Jean-Pierre Limosin

film review TOKYO EYES Japanese movie by Jean-Pierre Limosin with Shinji Takeda, Hinano Yoshikawa, Kaori Mizushima, Tetta Sugimoto written by Jean-Pierre Limosin

web.archive.org

Tokyo Eyes

web.archive.org

Tokyo Eyes - Dirk Jasper Filmlexikon (German)

 

[A-chan]

I liked that^__^ It was on German TV , too, for the 1st time a few weeks ago I wanted to watch again, but (as usual-.-) I missed it... very nice movie^^
(I think Hinano Yoshikawa is very beautiful!!)

 

[thomas]

Her appearance is very angelic and child-like, she's certainly a beauty!

 

[TomAsInfinity]

Great film, but unfortunately it does lack the magic that makes it a good film. www.midnighteye.com is probably the best place to go check out information on popular Japanese films

I would have to say that the film does not really have a Japanese feel to it despite being filmed over there. I think right now the Japanese are making the best films out there in the world. The thing that makes Japanese films wonderful are the beautiful scenes with startling cinematography and characters one can relate to. The knowledge and presentation of Japanese culture plays a large part in this. For me, Tokyo Eyes lacked this, which I think is due to it being helmed by a French director, but I only feel that way because I've seen quite a lot of modern Japanese films that I totally love (I highly recommend Shunji Iwai's "Love Letter" for melodrama/love, Takeshi Kitano's "Kids Return" for drama/comedy and Ryuhei Kitamura's "Versus" for unadulterated zombie ultra violence. You also couldn't go wrong with films by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Shohei Imamura and Katsuyuki Motohiro!)

 

[Lil'Anij]

I've seen it too...
Can anybody help me figure out, if the boy survived???
Every time I watch Tokyo Eyes I get confused with this question again...

And for all Germans...
http://www.japanlink.de/php/tv.php4

here you will find Japanese programs on german TV...
But I do still miss the best ^^

 

[ax]

i've watche it too..
it's not easy to understand the film...
but the gal is beautiful

ax

 

[Lil'Anij]

Well, I am a girl, so I looked more for the boy.... ^_~
But I feel happy to see, that I am not the only one wondering about the end....