Wim Wenders’ new film is a cinematic mantra based on routine life in Japan

Mr. Hirayama wakes up, brushes his teeth, smooths his mustache and shaves. He waters the plants in his tiny apartment, puts on a onesie with The Tokyo Toilet written on it, grabs a couple of coins and the keys to his pickup truck and goes to work as if nothing had happened. cleaner of the colorful public toiletswhich makes them look neat until they feel proud of their meticulous work.

So it begins Perfect daysthe novelty of the German veteran Wim Wendersand also every day of its protagonist, who will meticulously repeat his every step over the course of a week.

Hirayama deviates slightly from his routine to listen to a rock classic on cassette on the stereo of his van (Wenders always chooses an eloquent song that comments on the images), read a book before going to sleep or photograph a tree with his old camera photography while you have lunch.

The daily shower in a public bathroom, dinner at the bar, which includes minimalist flirting with the manager, and black and white dreams close that unalterable daily routine of Hirayama.

Narrative flat foot

Wenders gives his protagonist the same name as his family. Stories from Tokyoof his admired colleague Yasujiro Ozu, to whom the German had dedicated the documentary almost forty years ago Tokyo-Ga.

The protagonist’s habits are disturbed only by the inability of a young employee, an interaction that seems forced to nostalgically point out that everything in the past was better, and by the appearance of a niece who alludes to a past full of unresolved family problems.

The Hirayama story arc has arrived Perfect days It’s minimal, as if Wenders suffers from narrative flat feet.

Director of Paris, Texas AND The wings of desire from here he prefers to build the personality of his protagonist trivial detailssuch as the effort of scrubbing a modern appliance that functions as a bidet or using a small mirror to ensure that every corner of the toilet is spotless.

Drama. Japan / Germany, 2023, 124′. ATP. From: Wim Wenders. With: Kōji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Yumi Aso. Rooms: Cinépolis Recoleta, Hoyts Abasto, Multiplex Belgrano, Cinemark Palermo, Lorca, Cinema Devoto.