(segment "Merde")
Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde, a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
A university student finds himself wrapped up in the bizarre world of his next door neighbor, learning about his history and relationship with a girl who changed his life.
Made under the restrictions of "no zoom, pan, editing or post-sound", directors Shinobu Yaguchi and Takuji Suzuki skewer Japanese social conventions in 14 short episodes. In one segment a woman misreads an advertisement and arrives at a job interview dressed in a bunny suit. Another concerns a woman who hides to surprise her friends only to overhear their unkind appraisal of her hygiene. And another entitled "Grandpa from Hell" is a surreal yarn about a cult leader. Ranging from the humorous to the deeply bizarre, the film's static, minimalistic style makes such "Dogme 95" films as The Celebration (1998) look extravagant.
