See city life going backwards in these extracts from a nine-hour television program recently aired on French TV.
The color and vibrancy of Tokyo has led many a Hollywood filmmaker to shoot a scene here, but most limit themselves to the near-ubiquitous sight of Shibuya Crossing. New media Artist Simon Bouisson went there, but he went one step further—several thousand steps to be exact—in his nine-hour film, Tokyo Reverse, filming one man walking forward as the Tokyo masses pass him in reverse.
The film is made with a simple yet timeless camera trick—it’s actually the man, Ludovic Zuili, who is walking backwards while the people around him are going about their business as usual. As can be expected from a nine-hour film, Bouisson covers the whole city from Akasaka to Akihabara, and he captures the spirit of the city going through its spaces and interactions.
The film was made for French television and is part of a growing “Slow TV” movement, an idea that started in Norway after marathon videos of train rides and ship journeys sparked surprisingly high viewing figures and international attention. Check out the clip below for a backwards look at the places we know and love.
TOKYO REVERSE – EXTRAITS from Simon Bouisson on Vimeo.
