Domaine Singulier couldn't miss Wim Wenders' latest film, "Perfect Days"...
We discover that public toilets in Japan are an ode to hospitality and small temples of sublime ease.
The film's main character is a modest man, Hirayama (Koji Yakusho, winner of the Best Actor Award at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023), whose job is to clean public toilets in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.
He works meticulously and with great care, leaving his bathroom perfectly clean every day—a nearly unchanging ritual. Hirayama also enjoys reading, listening to his music cassettes in the car, and capturing fleeting moments with his camera.
The "Tokyo Toilet Project" is the inspiration for Wim Wenders' film. 17 public toilets in the Shibuya district were renovated by world-renowned architects and designers, including Tadao Ando, Shigeru Ban, Fumihiko Maki, Toyo Ito, and Marc Newson.
Wim Wenders explains that the term "service" has a completely different connotation in Japan. "The Japanese have a strong sense of service and the common good. I was amazed at how toilets can be part of everyday culture, and not just an almost embarrassing necessity ."
Beyond the toilet, Wim Wenders invites us to reflect on the search for beauty in our daily lives, in the simplest places and gestures that become essential.
The director also invites us to experience the joy of contemplation, of marveling at the infinitely pure, simple, and natural, like the passage of the sun through the leaves of the trees. A praise of slowed-down time, too.
A film we recommend.
Please note : when will there be public toilets in the major cities of France designed by great designers and architects that are true havens of peace...?
Year of production: 2023
Country: Japan
Duration: 123 minutes
Release date in France: November 29, 2023
Sources and for more information:
https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/perfect-days-un-film-de-wim-wenders-sortie-en-salles-le-29-nouvelle-2023-un-partenariat-france-inter-8590656
The press kit https://www.hautetcourt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/dp_perfectdays.pdf