Tokyo Uber Blues

This special limited edition slipcover (designed by Benoit Tardif) is limited to 1,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them. Named after Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made, tatami-level, crab-like tripod, Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the understanding of Asian cinema in North America. Focused on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon, bolster up-and-coming filmmakers and reintroduce repertory classics in context. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line! Unemployed in the wake of the pandemic, 26 year-old filmmaker Taku Aoyagi decides to try his luck in Tokyo. Short on worldly possessions but a bike and a phone, he becomes an Uber Eats rider. Now, he can decide his own hours and is free to choose when to take orders! But pedalling through deserted streets delivering boba tea to cloistered condos, he starts to wonder... what was it that Ken Loach said about the Uberization of society? Thrillingly shot from a first-person perspective on a mixture of smartphones and GoPros, first-time vlogger-turned-director Taku Aoyagi invites the audience to join him on his daily rides speeding through a deserted city. Talking to himself and his peers, he asks: for a young, unemployed person with $40,000 of student debt, does gig-work offer a model for the future? directed by: Taku Aoyagi starring: various 2021 / 93 min / 1.78:1 / Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Additional info: Region A Blu-ray Theatrical Cut (93mins, 2021) Director's Introduction TV Cut (52 mins, 2024) with optional Audio Description The Road He Walks: A Story of He-Kun (47mins, 2018) Performance of “Tokyo Uber Blues” by composer Shû Akiyama (4mins, 2023) Theatrical Q&A in Los Angeles (31mins, 2024) Theatrical Release Trailer (2 mins, 2024) Booklet with new writing by Calliope Vasiliki Optional English subtitles