Tokyo Eyes

The man shoots people but never kills them. This is not a thriller, it's a Tokyo life slices showing... with French eyes. It's amazing, sensual and incredibly modern.

This is an intriguing film in its early running. Its protagonist is driven by estrangement to aberrant behavior, and his budding relation with a kindred spirit makes for a potentially unusual story. But, ultimately it falls flat, never delivering any real punch. The acting is a little light weight to boot, too. Tekeshi Kitano has a near cameo role which does nothing for the momentum of the film, playing a Yakuza who shows up to retrieve a gun, and is more a distraction than anything else. There are many better Japanese films directed by real Japanese.

I always thought there were no good love movies in this world. Films like "Thorn Birds", "Gone with the wind", "Titanic" and "Love Story" with all that crying-suffering&dying stuff full of exaggeration never really touched me. Another reason I don't like these movies is that they completely lack in style.

However: The 90s have been extremely generous to us, giving us three excellent love movies full of style & magic: "Los Amantes del Círculo Polar", "Der Krieger und die Kaiserin" and this gem.

"Tokyo Eyes" is full of cool music, excellent camera work, cute scenes, and good storytelling, creating a mood that absorbed me right from the beginning. It's not pretentious in any way and it didn't annoy or bore me for a single second (As most other love movies do). The last five minutes are fantastic and contain one scene that in my opinion is one of the best in movie history (at least in terms of camera work). Shinji Takeda does a great job as "K" and Hinano Yoshikawa covers her missing acting skills by cuteness beyond good or evil. The cameo by Takeshi Kitano is nice as well.

P.S: Though I wouldn't consider this movie to be utterly weird or totally different from standard Hollywood movies, some people may find it too slow-paced, lacking in action or even pointless.

10 points out of 10.

I really enjoyed this movie, especially since it had a "guest" appearance by one of my favourite Japanese actors, none other than Takeshi Kitano. The movie is a mix of suspense thriller and commentary on the life and attitudes of people in large urban areas (not necessarily just in Japan) and reflects some aspects of life in Tokyo quite well. Highly recommended.

When I saw the first scenes I had other Japanese movies ( e.g. Hanabi ) in my mind. I was somewhat disappointed because this is a French love film more like "Salt on our Skin" or Episodes of the Three Colors Trilogy. This means no violence, no action. In the end I came to like the film for exactly this fact.

My recommendation: watch this film with the one you love, so you have got something to do during the lengthy parts.