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THIS IS THE STANDARD EDITION AND DOES NOT INCLUDE A SLIPCOVER 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? • 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
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Tokyo Uber Blues (2021)
93 min
Shot with a mix of smartphones and GoPros, filmmaker Taku Aoyagi takes us on his daily bike rides as an Uber Eats worker. But pedaling on Tokyo’s deserted streets, delivering boba tea to cloistered condos, he starts to wonder… what was it that Ken Loach said about the Uberization of society? And what does gig-work offer an unemployed young person with student debt?