Laura Gómez Instagram – Hirayama is a Japanese man who cleans public toilets in Tokyo. He has a somewhat solitary yet peaceful existence. His life is simple. He’s good at his job. He reads books before going to sleep. He’s content. Wim Wenders has always fascinated me as a filmmaker. Mostly, his capacity to navigate genres with such easiness, but then also, his humanity, as a person & as an artist. Perfect Days touched me on a very personal level and I have now heard many interviews to Wenders about it. I found the one on the @mubi podcast particularly insightful. In it I learned that Wenders had been saddened by people’s post-pandemic aggressive and divisive behavior but found that Japan was different in that regard, people were taking care of public spaces, being kind to one another & cleaning after themselves, which inspired him to write the film as fiction -it was originally a commission for a documentary about the avant-garde toilets in the movie- and make it more about the man cleaning them. Humble as he is, he knew he would have to write it with someone who knew the culture, so he called Japanese screenwriter Tamuka Takasaki and co-wrote it with actor Koji Yakusho in mind, who’s mere perfection in this role. Meanwhile, Wenders directed a perfectly humane & personal film, in such different culture, language and world than his. Still thinking about it, a bit in awe of the simplicity of the universe this master has created and much like him, wishing for a better world! #perfectdays #wimwenders #recooftheday via @mubi