![]() |
Kôji Yakusho
|
![]() |
Min Tanaka
|
![]() |
Tokio Emoto
|
![]() |
Aoi Yamada
|
![]() |
Sayuri Ishikawa
|
![]() |
Arisa Nakano
|
![]() |
Yumi Aso
|
![]() |
Tomokazu Miura
|
![]() |
Kôji Yakusho |
![]() |
Min Tanaka |
![]() |
Tokio Emoto |
![]() |
Aoi Yamada |
![]() |
Sayuri Ishikawa |
![]() |
Arisa Nakano |
![]() |
Yumi Aso |
![]() |
Tomokazu Miura |
![]() |
![]() |
Kôji Yakusho |
![]() |
Min Tanaka |
![]() |
Tokio Emoto |
![]() |
Aoi Yamada |
![]() |
Sayuri Ishikawa |
![]() |
Arisa Nakano |
![]() |
Yumi Aso |
![]() |
Tomokazu Miura |
Kôji Yakusho, in one of his best performances to date, plays Hirayama, a cleaner of these toilets. (He is named after the protagonist of Yasujiro Ozu’s last film, An Autumn Afternoon – a quiet tribute to the great master of Japanese cinema, an auteur beloved by Wenders.) Hirayama lives alone in a small house full of plants, his days going by according to quiet rhythms that never seem to change. His is a neighbourhood of tiny cafés frequented by the same people, of bookshops that sell works by Patricia Highsmith or young, contemporary Japanese writers. Hirayama speaks very little and has a great passion for music, books, and the trees he loves to photograph. He drives to work in his minivan, fully equipped with his cleaning gear, while The Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, or Lou Reed ring in ageless, husky hums from a tape player.