Perfect Days (2023)

Deb, Angela, and I loved this languid tale of a Tokyo public toilet cleaner contentedly living his well-ordered life. Some things do happen but this is not for the impatient. Some of the movie's seven wins and 35 other nominations have gone to star Koji Yakusho and others to German director Wim Wenders, the first non-Japanese director to helm an Oscar-nominated Japanese language movie.

The screenplay was co-written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki. No composer is credited but our hero listens to audio cassettes of 70s and 80s American and British music (here's one list, including the ad hoc title track of Lou Reed's Perfect Day).

The nine public toilets in the movie are architecturally and sometimes technologically fascinating. Apparently they were built to welcome people to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Obviously, the games were delayed but the restrooms are still standing. An executive with the company Uniqlo spearheaded the idea of making a documentary about the buildings, and Wenders was one of the directors contacted. Wenders decided to make a fiction feature instead.

The second item on my list of Rules for movies and television is that the Eiffel Tower is visible in nearly every shot of Paris. Further down is Big Ben, London Bridge, and/or Buckingham Palace and the guards for London. In this movie, Tokyo's Skytree tower is ubiquitous.

Wenders was last blogged for Pina and this is the second feature for Takasaki. Yakusho's resume includes Tampopo (1985), Shall We Dance (1996), and Babel (2006).

Rotten Tomatoes' critics reviews are practically flawless, averaging 96% and its audiences are close at 90. Not St. Patrick's Day fare, but we rented it on March 17 anyway.