Three big names in World Cinema collaborate on Tokyo!, an entertaining, affecting, and sometimes unfathomable omnibus set in the crowded Japanese city. Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) kicks things off with "Interior Design", a metaphorical look at a young woman who's starting to feel a little down in Tokyo. Fujitani Ayako plays the girlfriend to an aspiring director (Kase Ryo) of decidedly bad cinema, but as his career and life slightly edges forward, she finds herself marginalized, if not by the city and her circumstances, then by her own self-defeating ego. Gondry's surreal vision of Tokyo is unusually poignant, and what happens to our heroine is bizarre, sad and oddly somewhat comforting.

Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge) handles the second segment, "Merde", a darkly funny satire about intolerance. A disgusting human-like creature named Merde (Denis Lavant) emerges from the Tokyo sewers and terrorizes the local populace by acting in a manner that nobody likes. Thanks to his bizarre language, wretched mannerisms, and a general disregard for Tokyoites, Merde is made a pariah, and is soon captured and put on trial for, well, being different. Carax makes his point on intolerance by indicting the audience in the same intolerance he attempts to decry. The point is well taken, but getting there is a forcibly intellectual and ultimately unpleasant experience.

Bong Joon Ho (The Host) bats cleans up with "Shaking Tokyo", about a Tokyo shut-in (Kagawa Teruyuki) who leaves his cherished isolated existence to pursue an alluring pizza delivery girl (Yu Aoi). Absorbingly paced and full of nuances, Bong's segment is the most enjoyable of the bunch, not because it represents Tokyo better than Gondry's or Carax's work, but because it's pleasingly cinematic. Its simple story hints at possible connection between two disaffected individuals – an endearing theme for a movie set in a large, alienating city. Bong creates some very agreeable emotions, and his actors (including J-Cinema fixture Takenaka Naoto in a brief bit) are ace.

The whole of Tokyo! would be hard to rate as excellent, but the omnibus format is understandably given to up-and-down quality. In parts, the film has much to recommend, and even if one-third of the film is a little more tough to take, it complements the others well. Besides, two out of three is mathematically better than average – and that's just what Tokyo! is: better-than-average, with its ambitious ideas and quirky narratives giving it an option on unique and special. And even if one segment isn't so hot, you still have the option of skipping it. The DVD remote is your friend.