PERFECT DAYS Luminaries

Japan’s Oscar^® submission for Best International Feature

Kōji Yakusho won the Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes film festival for his portrayal of Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo who performs his job like a dedicated master craftsman, in Wim Wenders’ sweetly meditative drama PERFECT DAYS. Rising early each day, Hirayama executes his duties with exquisite professionalism and pride in a job well done, despite the less committed effort of colleagues like his trainee, Takashi (Tokio Emoto). With the workday done, Hirayama begins his equally regimented leisure routine: pop a favorite cassette into his van’s tape deck (his taste includes songs by Otis Redding, Nina Simone, The Kinks, the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith and – naturally – Lou Reed’s 1972 classic “Perfect Day”), visit a favorite eatery for dinner, and enjoy reading a novel before bedtime. Hirayama may seem like a model of work-life balance, and his apparent anti-materialism commendable, but a visit from his niece and later his estranged sister suggests a pain from his past he may be working hard to contain. Yakusho gives a quietly commanding performance. Best known for his many collaborations with Kiyoshi Kurosawa, from 1997’s CURE to 2008’s TOKYO SONATA, as well as Juzo Itami’s TAMPOPO, the beloved ballroom dancing romance SHALL WE DANCE? and Shohei Imamura’s Palme d’Or-winning THE EEL, the actor here adds another masterfully played role to his stellar body of work. –Todd Hitchcock