It all probably started when the German director Wim WENDERS (GOLDEN PALM 1984 for PARIS, TEXAS) wanted to make a documentary about the particularly ornate toilet facilities in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. This project fell through because the master director did not consider it to be productive enough as a film material without fictionalization. Smart decision!
The slightly older Mr. Hirayama (Koji YAKUSHO) lives in seclusion in the somewhat poor district on the Sumida River and is a toilet man responsible for the toilets in the posh Shibuya district, which are really worth seeing. With great dedication and meticulous precision, this silent man cleans the numerous toilet facilities every day. His entire life follows a practiced routine that clearly gives the man strength and brings him joy. Towering above everything is the Sky Tree, which can be seen from afar and sparkles in various colors. But even a man as reserved as Mr. Hirayama has a past and people who are genuinely fond of him...
The now four-time ACADEMY AWARD nominee Wim WENDERS (he was nominated in 2000 (BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB), 2012 (PINA), 2015 (THE SALT OF THE EARTH) and in 2024 for PERFECT DAYS) is credited with this wonderful film (the camera images are from again by Franz LUSTIG from Freiburg im Breisgau) a silent masterpiece has been achieved. As an audience, we follow the everyday life of a loner in the largest megacity on earth. Mr. Hirayama may be alone a lot, but he has a sense of the beauties of life that can be transmitted to those watching. Koji YAKUSHO, who recently played the lead role in the NETFLIX series THE DAYS about the horrific reactor accident in Fukushima, succeeds in creating a wonderful portrait of a man who has been marked by life, but who has found his inner center and is therefore by no means unhappy. The Japanese actor was rightly honored with the Silver Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
How is it possible that such a quiet film without action-packed climaxes is so successful at the box office worldwide (BOX OFFICE according to IMDb, as of April 27, 2024: 24.1 million USD)? This is probably because the audience can relate very well to the story of a man who consciously decided to continue living in the analogue age, even though Tokyo in particular is certainly a hotspot for digitalized life. Instead of streaming music, Mr. Hirayama maintains his now valuable collection of music cassettes. And reading authors like Patricia HIGHSMITH and Nobel Prize winner William FAULKNER has gone out of style for younger generations.
In a very funny scene in a cassette vintage shop in Moloch Tokyo, director Wim WENDERS can be seen in a nice cameo as a browsing customer. May he be blessed with many more such early works!
The slightly older Mr. Hirayama (Koji YAKUSHO) lives in seclusion in the somewhat poor district on the Sumida River and is a toilet man responsible for the toilets in the posh Shibuya district, which are really worth seeing. With great dedication and meticulous precision, this silent man cleans the numerous toilet facilities every day. His entire life follows a practiced routine that clearly gives the man strength and brings him joy. Towering above everything is the Sky Tree, which can be seen from afar and sparkles in various colors. But even a man as reserved as Mr. Hirayama has a past and people who are genuinely fond of him...
The now four-time ACADEMY AWARD nominee Wim WENDERS (he was nominated in 2000 (BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB), 2012 (PINA), 2015 (THE SALT OF THE EARTH) and in 2024 for PERFECT DAYS) is credited with this wonderful film (the camera images are from again by Franz LUSTIG from Freiburg im Breisgau) a silent masterpiece has been achieved. As an audience, we follow the everyday life of a loner in the largest megacity on earth. Mr. Hirayama may be alone a lot, but he has a sense of the beauties of life that can be transmitted to those watching. Koji YAKUSHO, who recently played the lead role in the NETFLIX series THE DAYS about the horrific reactor accident in Fukushima, succeeds in creating a wonderful portrait of a man who has been marked by life, but who has found his inner center and is therefore by no means unhappy. The Japanese actor was rightly honored with the Silver Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
How is it possible that such a quiet film without action-packed climaxes is so successful at the box office worldwide (BOX OFFICE according to IMDb, as of April 27, 2024: 24.1 million USD)? This is probably because the audience can relate very well to the story of a man who consciously decided to continue living in the analogue age, even though Tokyo in particular is certainly a hotspot for digitalized life. Instead of streaming music, Mr. Hirayama maintains his now valuable collection of music cassettes. And reading authors like Patricia HIGHSMITH and Nobel Prize winner William FAULKNER has gone out of style for younger generations.
In a very funny scene in a cassette vintage shop in Moloch Tokyo, director Wim WENDERS can be seen in a nice cameo as a browsing customer. May he be blessed with many more such early works!