Entry tags:

comics, human furniture, movies, transformation

Interior Design
Pointed to me by "utsumi," Tokyo! is an independent film comprised of three short stories, each by a different director. The segment "Interior Design," directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and that Bjork robot music video), is described as:

A young couple tries to set themselves up in Tokyo. The young man's ambition is clear — to become a film director. His girlfriend, far more indecisive, cannot escape the vague feeling that she's losing control of her life. Directionless, both are beginning to go under in this vast city until the young woman, utterly alone, becomes the object of a bizarre transformation...

Sound interesting? Take a look:



Chairs may not be one of my more favorite transformations, but when it's done like this (the leg-walking part in particular)... I wonder if he'd be open to taking suggestions for possible ideas to do next? ;-)

The short is actually a loose adaptation of comic story called "Cecil And Jordan In New York" by Gabrielle Bell. "Loose" because the original is only a four-page story, so Gondry has embellished some to stretch it out a bit (not to mention, changing the setting to Tokyo to go with the overall film's theme). Also, the trailer makes it appear to be an unexpected transformation, whereas in the story she does it completely of her own accord.

In fact, part of what makes the story so funny to read is just how nonchalant she is about the change, sort of like "yeah, so I thought I'd become a chair. *shrug*" The idea being that she is found by some unsuspecting person, and when they leave she turns back into a person and enjoys having "free" room and board.



You can read the full four-page story here.

It will be interesting to see how Gondry's take differs.