A highly anticipated return to fiction feature filmmaking from Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire), Perfect Days takes the writer-director to Tokyo to tell a story celebrating the hidden joys and minutiae of Japanese culture. Winner of the Best Actor award at Cannes 2023, Koji Yakusho (Babel, 13 Assassins) stars as Hirayama, a contemplative middle-aged man who lives a life of modesty and serenity, spending his days balancing his job as a dutiful caretaker of Tokyo’s numerous public toilets with his passion for music, literature and photography. As we join him on his structured daily routine, a series of unexpected encounters gradually begin to reveal a hidden past that lies behind his otherwise content and harmonious life.
Combining a refreshingly unstereotypical depiction of the Japanese capital with a soundtrack comprised of iconic hits from the 60s and 80s, this is a subtle, shimmering and ultimately life-affirming reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us. Japan’s entry for Best International Film at the 2024 Academy Awards.
