tokyo! (2008) & by design (2025)
in michel gondry’s short film interior design, after feeling objectified and completely useless, hiroko (ayako fujitani) transforms into a wooden chair.
while digging into its source of inspiration, i found that gondry adapted gabrielle bell’s comic strip cecil and jordan in new york for this short film.
then lately, i watched by design by amanda kramer. the film directly reminded me of gondry’s short. i’m curious whether she drew any inspiration from it. in the film, camille swaps bodies with a chair and discovers that people prefer her more as an object than as a person. it is interesting to see the circulation of the original idea.
