TOKYO IS DREAMING
A rich and evocative tableau of life in the Japanese capital, set to a beguiling score by Calexico’s John Convertino. Taiwanese-born artist/filmmaker Peter I. Chang’s portrait of the bustling metropolis offers a modern-day take on the City Symphonies that flourished in early 20th Century cinema with films such as Man with a Movie Camera. Like those earlier opuses, Tokyo is Dreaming uses the camera to observe the beating heart(s) of urban life—work, travel, leisure but also alienation and homelessness—subtly drawing a map of the city in which quiet contemplation and frenetic activity overlap. The absence of dialogue, subtitles or voice-over narration encourages a total submersion in this life of the city—a bewildering and fascinating journey.