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Lotan Diker

Film Review: Tokyo Trembling, Director: Olivia Pugh, 2022

Japan is one of the countries most prone to earthquakes, disasters are part of the culture there. The movie "Tokyo is shaking" tries to change the cinematic perspective on these events and instead of making the viewer see a celebration of blood and explosions, put emphasis on the psychology of the victims who are only in the storm.



Apart from a stormy and fascinating opening sequence, full of explosions and tremors, the movie "Tokyo is shaking" is very different later on. It deals with the disaster that happened in 2011, one of the strongest earthquakes in history.



The movie "Tokyo Trembling" follows Alexandra (Karin Vier), a woman who arrives at a bank in Japan, which is a Parisian branch of the chain, and gets caught up in massive tsunami waves and has to take care of her family and frightened employees.



The point of view in the movie "Tokyo Trembling" is very interesting, but will not suit everyone. Instead of focusing on the waves that wash over the city, it concentrates on the bank managers and shareholders, who are not interested in the survival of the employees, but only the profit angle. The human emphasis is indeed very creative, but the slow and archaic pace can bore many viewers who expect something completely different.



While there is an intimate, philosophical female angle on the human in a natural disaster in the film "Tokyo is Trembling", it will not be suitable for most viewers. It is very slow and cumbersome, a sort of unnecessarily long and detailed drag.



Although there are interesting dialogues, a critical and important point of view in the movie "Tokyo is shaking" and also a fine acting, "Tokyo is shaking" will only suit those who are looking for slow and thoughtful European art cinema, which seeks to say something essential about humanity. All the rest will not succeed its length and thoughtful content.



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