To mark the centenary of Yasujiro Ozu's birth, Hou Hsiao-Hsien made his own Tokyo story, “Café Lumière,” a film with Hou's individuality, but full of subtle nuances in tribute to the Japanese master. The family drama gets a modern-day setting, with cultural change seen across the generations.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Yoko (Taiwanese-Japanese musician Yo Hitoto) is a journalist who switches her time between Tokyo and Taiwan. Researching Taiwanese composer Wen-Ye Jiang, she seeks out a cafe the composer frequented when based in Tokyo. And in tribute to Ozu, who favored dialogue over story, that is about that in terms of plot.
Family and its changing nature is a theme hinted at throughout, with Yoko being pregnant by her boyfriend in Taiwan. However, she has a somewhat blasé attitude towards the pregnancy, and indeed her boyfriend; unconcerned as to whether she sees him again,...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Yoko (Taiwanese-Japanese musician Yo Hitoto) is a journalist who switches her time between Tokyo and Taiwan. Researching Taiwanese composer Wen-Ye Jiang, she seeks out a cafe the composer frequented when based in Tokyo. And in tribute to Ozu, who favored dialogue over story, that is about that in terms of plot.
Family and its changing nature is a theme hinted at throughout, with Yoko being pregnant by her boyfriend in Taiwan. However, she has a somewhat blasé attitude towards the pregnancy, and indeed her boyfriend; unconcerned as to whether she sees him again,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Andrew Thayne
- AsianMoviePulse
‘Perfect Days’ to Kick Off Wim Wenders Retrospective From American Cinematheque and Neon (Exclusive)
The American Cinematheque has programmed a retrospective to celebrate the work of three-time Oscar nominee Wim Wenders ahead of the Feb. 7 nationwide release of his latest film “Perfect Days,” Neon announced.
The retrospective screenings and in-person Q&As will begin on Jan. 11 at the Aero Theatre with a double feature of “Perfect Days” and “Tokyo-Ga” at 7:30 p.m. There will be a Q&a segment with the director in between the films. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday on the American Cinematheque website.
Shortlisted for best international film, “Perfect Days” is the Japanese submission for the 2024 Oscars. The film was awarded the prize of the ecumenial jury and the best actor award for Koji Yakusho at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Yakusho also executive produces the film, with Koji Yanai, Wenders and co-writer Takuma Takasaki producing it. Prior to its nationwide release, the film was released in limited theaters on Nov.
The retrospective screenings and in-person Q&As will begin on Jan. 11 at the Aero Theatre with a double feature of “Perfect Days” and “Tokyo-Ga” at 7:30 p.m. There will be a Q&a segment with the director in between the films. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday on the American Cinematheque website.
Shortlisted for best international film, “Perfect Days” is the Japanese submission for the 2024 Oscars. The film was awarded the prize of the ecumenial jury and the best actor award for Koji Yakusho at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Yakusho also executive produces the film, with Koji Yanai, Wenders and co-writer Takuma Takasaki producing it. Prior to its nationwide release, the film was released in limited theaters on Nov.
- 1/4/2024
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Lyon, France — Four-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón and “Time Bandits” helmer Terry Gilliam will join a star director-studded lineup at this year’s Lumière Film Festival including Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne and Wim Wenders.
Cuarón is returning to Lyon – where he was a guest of honor in 2018 – to present a selection of films by Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner.
Gilliam will screen the newly restored version of his 1995 sci-fi thriller “Twelve Monkeys.”
One of Anderson’s latest shorts, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” part of four Roald Dahl adaptations to be released on Netflix later this month, will screen at Lyon’s plush 2,000-seat Auditorium, where he will give a masterclass.
Like other guests, he will not only be introducing a retrospective of his own films but works by others, as part of an ongoing drive by the festival “to strengthen the link between the past and the present of cinema,...
Cuarón is returning to Lyon – where he was a guest of honor in 2018 – to present a selection of films by Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner.
Gilliam will screen the newly restored version of his 1995 sci-fi thriller “Twelve Monkeys.”
One of Anderson’s latest shorts, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” part of four Roald Dahl adaptations to be released on Netflix later this month, will screen at Lyon’s plush 2,000-seat Auditorium, where he will give a masterclass.
Like other guests, he will not only be introducing a retrospective of his own films but works by others, as part of an ongoing drive by the festival “to strengthen the link between the past and the present of cinema,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Japan has picked German director Wim Wenders’ delicate drama Perfect Days, which debuted to rave reviews at Cannes earlier this year, as its entry for the 2024 Oscars in the best international feature category.
The film follows the daily routines of a late-middle-aged Japanese man who works as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Koji Yakusho won Cannes’ prestigious best actor honor for his nuanced portrayal of this simple, dignified man. The film also took home the Ecumenical Jury Prize from Cannes.
The selection marks the first time Japan has submitted a film to the Oscars that was not helmed by a Japanese filmmaker. But aside from the director, Perfect Days is Japanese through and through, featuring an all-Japanese cast performing only in the Japanese language. Produced by Master Mind Limited (Japan) and Spoon Inc. (Japan) in collaboration with Wenders Images (Germany), the film is an official Japan-Germany co-production.
The Hollywood...
The film follows the daily routines of a late-middle-aged Japanese man who works as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Koji Yakusho won Cannes’ prestigious best actor honor for his nuanced portrayal of this simple, dignified man. The film also took home the Ecumenical Jury Prize from Cannes.
The selection marks the first time Japan has submitted a film to the Oscars that was not helmed by a Japanese filmmaker. But aside from the director, Perfect Days is Japanese through and through, featuring an all-Japanese cast performing only in the Japanese language. Produced by Master Mind Limited (Japan) and Spoon Inc. (Japan) in collaboration with Wenders Images (Germany), the film is an official Japan-Germany co-production.
The Hollywood...
- 9/4/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ozu Fan Set For Return Trip To Tokyo
German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to be the president of the jury that decides the main competition prizes later this year at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Wenders has frequent connections with the Japanese capital and last year shot his “Perfect Days” film in the city. The film recently appeared in competition in Cannes and earned Yakusho Koji the best actor prize.
The Tokyo festival confirmed plans to host a celebration of Japanese director Ozu Yasujiro, who was born 120 years ago and died exactly 60 years later. Wenders previously shot 1985 documentary “Tokyo-ga” as a tribute to Ozu.
“For this festival happening 60 years after the death and therefore 120 years after Ozu’s birthday, my declared master, makes the occasion very special to me,” said Wenders.
The festival is set to run Oct. 23 – Nov. 1 (Wed.) in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area. While Ozu celebrations have been announced elsewhere in the world,...
German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to be the president of the jury that decides the main competition prizes later this year at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Wenders has frequent connections with the Japanese capital and last year shot his “Perfect Days” film in the city. The film recently appeared in competition in Cannes and earned Yakusho Koji the best actor prize.
The Tokyo festival confirmed plans to host a celebration of Japanese director Ozu Yasujiro, who was born 120 years ago and died exactly 60 years later. Wenders previously shot 1985 documentary “Tokyo-ga” as a tribute to Ozu.
“For this festival happening 60 years after the death and therefore 120 years after Ozu’s birthday, my declared master, makes the occasion very special to me,” said Wenders.
The festival is set to run Oct. 23 – Nov. 1 (Wed.) in the Hibiya-Yurakucho-Marunouchi-Ginza area. While Ozu celebrations have been announced elsewhere in the world,...
- 6/13/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
German filmmaking legend Wim Wenders will head up this year’s competition jury for the Tokyo International Film Festival, organizers announced on Monday.
Wenders is currently riding high — and his long-running artistic connections to Japan are more apparent than ever. The director’s most recent feature, Perfect Days, recently premiered at Cannes in competition and was widely hailed as his finest fiction film in years. An intimate character study following a middle-aged Tokyo man who has pared his life down to a routine of service and small pleasures, it won Cannes best actor prize for its inimitable lead, veteran Japanese character actor Koji Yakusho. The Hollywood Reporter‘s critic summed the film up as simply, “ineffably lovely.”
Over a 55-year career in film, Wenders, now 77, has won many of world cinema’s highest honors, including the Golden Lion for The State of Things at the Venice Film Festival (1982); the Palme...
Wenders is currently riding high — and his long-running artistic connections to Japan are more apparent than ever. The director’s most recent feature, Perfect Days, recently premiered at Cannes in competition and was widely hailed as his finest fiction film in years. An intimate character study following a middle-aged Tokyo man who has pared his life down to a routine of service and small pleasures, it won Cannes best actor prize for its inimitable lead, veteran Japanese character actor Koji Yakusho. The Hollywood Reporter‘s critic summed the film up as simply, “ineffably lovely.”
Over a 55-year career in film, Wenders, now 77, has won many of world cinema’s highest honors, including the Golden Lion for The State of Things at the Venice Film Festival (1982); the Palme...
- 6/12/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Festival also set to host a retrospective of filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to preside over the international competition jury of Tokyo International Film Festival, where he will also host a retrospective of influential Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu.
It will mark the first time Wenders has attended the festival since 2011, when his documentary Pina screened in the festival’s special screening section.
Wenders is known for features The State of Things, which won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1982; Paris, Texas, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984; and Wings Of Desire, for which he...
German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to preside over the international competition jury of Tokyo International Film Festival, where he will also host a retrospective of influential Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu.
It will mark the first time Wenders has attended the festival since 2011, when his documentary Pina screened in the festival’s special screening section.
Wenders is known for features The State of Things, which won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1982; Paris, Texas, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984; and Wings Of Desire, for which he...
- 6/12/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Neon releases the film in limited theaters on Wednesday, February 7, with expansion to follow.
Wim Wenders’ latest, “Perfect Days” plays like the culmination of filmmaker’s long tryst with Japanese virtuoso Ozu Yasujirō, which includes Wenders’ 1985 Ozu documentary “Tokyo-Ga,” and manifests here as a distinctly Ozu-esque observance of life and rhythm. First commissioned as a short film project celebrating Tokyo’s state-of-the-art public toilets — the great social equalizer — Wenders snatches the concept and doesn’t so much run with it as much as he strolls with it in the park while contemplating dreams, the dignity of labor, and the fleeting joys of waking moments.
Yakusho Kōji plays Hirayama, a quiet, middle-aged toilet cleaner, and the embodiment of contentment, or so it would seem. He begins every day in his closet-sized duplex by carefully watering his plants,...
Wim Wenders’ latest, “Perfect Days” plays like the culmination of filmmaker’s long tryst with Japanese virtuoso Ozu Yasujirō, which includes Wenders’ 1985 Ozu documentary “Tokyo-Ga,” and manifests here as a distinctly Ozu-esque observance of life and rhythm. First commissioned as a short film project celebrating Tokyo’s state-of-the-art public toilets — the great social equalizer — Wenders snatches the concept and doesn’t so much run with it as much as he strolls with it in the park while contemplating dreams, the dignity of labor, and the fleeting joys of waking moments.
Yakusho Kōji plays Hirayama, a quiet, middle-aged toilet cleaner, and the embodiment of contentment, or so it would seem. He begins every day in his closet-sized duplex by carefully watering his plants,...
- 5/26/2023
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Indiewire
Holding an extended closing shot on a character’s face has often been an effective way to illuminate whatever thoughts and feelings are running through their head, to keep them resonating through the end credits and even beyond. The device worked exceptionally well in Call Me by Your Name, Benediction and Michael Clayton.
Wim Wenders ends his eloquent and emotionally rich Japanese drama, Perfect Days, with such a shot, held tight on the extraordinarily expressive face of Koji Yakusho as his character drives through Tokyo reflecting on the rewards and perhaps also the regrets of his life with the same spirit of openness and acceptance, embracing the sadness as much as the joy.
The song that this resolutely analog man is listening to on his car cassette player is a Nina Simone standard that has become one of the most overused tracks in contemporary movies. But it fits the scene...
Wim Wenders ends his eloquent and emotionally rich Japanese drama, Perfect Days, with such a shot, held tight on the extraordinarily expressive face of Koji Yakusho as his character drives through Tokyo reflecting on the rewards and perhaps also the regrets of his life with the same spirit of openness and acceptance, embracing the sadness as much as the joy.
The song that this resolutely analog man is listening to on his car cassette player is a Nina Simone standard that has become one of the most overused tracks in contemporary movies. But it fits the scene...
- 5/25/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Afterschool, Christine, and Simon Killer (Antonio Campos)
Before his star-studded gothic drama The Devil All the Time lands on Netflix in a few weeks, Antonio Campos’ first three features arrive on the streaming platform this week. Each a fascinating career study in isolation and loneliness, captured with a formally controlled eye, it’ll be curious in comparison to see how Campos tackles his first true ensemble film. For now, it’s the perfect time to revisit this trio of impressive indies. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Netflix
The August Virgin (Jonás Trueba)
In the new movie The August Virgin, a young woman named Eva wanders the sidewalks and watering...
Afterschool, Christine, and Simon Killer (Antonio Campos)
Before his star-studded gothic drama The Devil All the Time lands on Netflix in a few weeks, Antonio Campos’ first three features arrive on the streaming platform this week. Each a fascinating career study in isolation and loneliness, captured with a formally controlled eye, it’ll be curious in comparison to see how Campos tackles his first true ensemble film. For now, it’s the perfect time to revisit this trio of impressive indies. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Netflix
The August Virgin (Jonás Trueba)
In the new movie The August Virgin, a young woman named Eva wanders the sidewalks and watering...
- 8/21/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
DVD Playhouse – May 2012
By Allen Gardner
Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...
By Allen Gardner
Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...
- 5/7/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – Two of the best things about the Criterion release of Yasujiro Ozu’s “Late Spring” happen to be proof of why the film and its director have become so important to so many film historians — appreciations from two talented people influences by the moving work, now available on Criterion Blu-ray and re-released Criterion DVD. Critic Michael Atkinson writes a beautiful essay in the booklet and the great director Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire”) provides a fantastic documentary from 1985, “Tokyo-ga.” about the director. Both are reason enough to buy the movie.
Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Atkinson makes a compelling case as to why Ozu has survived much more than most of his peers in the history of Japanese cinema. There’s something so simple about Ozu’s work, it touches a note of humanity without pretension that is both timeless and universal. Read the essay, then watch the movie, and then watch...
Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Atkinson makes a compelling case as to why Ozu has survived much more than most of his peers in the history of Japanese cinema. There’s something so simple about Ozu’s work, it touches a note of humanity without pretension that is both timeless and universal. Read the essay, then watch the movie, and then watch...
- 4/24/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Of the films made during Japan's cinematic golden age, those of Yasujiro Ozu are seen as most typically Japanese. But as studies in character and domestic life, they are universal, argues Ian Buruma, and they reveal beauty where we don't usually look for it
Akira Kurosawa made great samurai films. Kenji Mizoguchi filmed the lives of courtesans and geishas with the feel of classical Japanese painting. Yasujiro Ozu made films about middle-class families in Tokyo. Of these three masters of Japan's cinematic golden age, which lasted from the 1930s till the 1960s, Ozu is considered to be the most typically Japanese. So much so that Japanese producers refused at first to release his films abroad. Foreigners wouldn't understand. They might laugh at Japanese in business suits sipping green tea on tatami mat floors. They wouldn't get the subtlety of Japanese family relations. Ozu's style would surely strike action-loving westerners as boring and slow.
Akira Kurosawa made great samurai films. Kenji Mizoguchi filmed the lives of courtesans and geishas with the feel of classical Japanese painting. Yasujiro Ozu made films about middle-class families in Tokyo. Of these three masters of Japan's cinematic golden age, which lasted from the 1930s till the 1960s, Ozu is considered to be the most typically Japanese. So much so that Japanese producers refused at first to release his films abroad. Foreigners wouldn't understand. They might laugh at Japanese in business suits sipping green tea on tatami mat floors. They wouldn't get the subtlety of Japanese family relations. Ozu's style would surely strike action-loving westerners as boring and slow.
- 1/9/2010
- by Ian Buruma
- The Guardian - Film News
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