What is the story behind perfect days, a Japanese actor who won the best actor award at the 76th Cannes Film Festival for his role as a toilet cleaner?
The film, produced in Japan by German director Wim Wenders, was created as part of the Tokyo Toilet Project, an initiative to transform 17 public restrooms in the capital's Shibuya Ward to make them more comfortable. The toilets were designed by world-renowned architects and creators.
The idea of providing hospitality to all people without distinction was conceived by Koji Yanai, 46, a director of fast Retailing Co., which operates the Uniqlo casual clothing chain.
As renovations were underway, Yanai realized that it was necessary to ensure that public restrooms had a long-lasting cultural and artistic worth and improve social awareness, which led to the creation of the artwork. He then contacted Wenders, who has a deep interest in architecture and is also a Japanophile.
At first, the only idea for Yakusho to play a public toilet cleaner, but after visiting Japan and inspecting the restrooms, Wenders expressed his desire to make a feature-length film, and the production was decided. In two weeks, the director searched for shooting locations, wrote the script, and shot the film in Shibuya and Sumida wards in October 2022 in Shibuya and Sumida wards.
He marveled at the project, saying public restrooms in Japan are comforting and represent a culture that doesn't exist in his country. Inperfect days, he depicted the character's painstakingly cleaning the unique toilets that he designed. He also said that this is a spiritual film.
Wenders is deeply indebted to the late Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, and in 1985 made the documentary film Tokyo-Ga, featuring Ozu's Tokyo Story. He said that he couldn't help but feel Ozu's presence when filming in Tokyo this time as well, and that he wanted to reflect the current state of Tokyo as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, just as Ozu reflected the changes in Tokyo in his works.