“PERFECT DAYS” Co-screenwriter/Producer: Takuma Takasaki “Making things” is not a means [Director’s Interview Vol.381]

Even though the film is set in Japan and Japanese actors are acting in Japanese, there is definitely a Wim Wenders film there. Just because it was shot in Japan doesn't mean it's just a homage to Yasujiro Ozu, whom he respects. There is a latent influence of Ozu, but it's no different from his previous films. "PERFECT DAYS" has become a Wim Wenders film to the point that it can be called miraculous. I felt a similar sensation to when I saw " Wings of Desire " (1987).

It is not Wenders alone who was able to create this miraculous film. It is not difficult to imagine that it was several times more difficult for him to shoot a film in Tokyo than in Europe. One of the central figures who made this happen was Takuma Takasaki, who co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film. How did he create a film in Tokyo together with Wim Wenders? We spoke to him.

"PERFECT DAYS" Synopsis

Hirayama (Yakusho Koji), who works as a toilet cleaner in Shibuya, Tokyo, lived a quiet, monotonous life. He woke up at the same time, got ready in the same way, and worked in the same way. His days may seem like a repetition of the same thing, but not a single day was the same, and the man lived each day as a new day. His way of life was even beautiful. The man loved trees. He squinted at the sunlight filtering through the trees. An unexpected event occurred in the man's daily life. It slightly shook the man's past.

Index

• It all started with a "fictional movie"
• The cleaner will be played by one of Japan's best actors.
• Wenders says "story" gets in the way of movies
• Learning how to capture landscapes from Wenders
• "Making things" is not a means

It all started with a "fictional movie"

Q: How did the planning for this film begin, and when was Wim Wenders chosen as director?

Takasaki: It all started with a consultation with Koji Yanai (First Retailing), who was planning, implementing and even funding a project called THE TOKYO TOILET*. It was a project that concretely solved the issues of public toilets with many architects and creators, and when I heard about the concepts and ideas behind each of the toilets that were created, I was very interested in the many challenges and ways of thinking that went beyond just superficial matters. But Yanai was already facing his next challenge at that time. That was "maintenance." He was thinking about how to communicate with everyone, make them love and cherish them. So the two of us had long and regular conversations. We also had a lot of casual conversations that would later become very precious treasures. During those conversations, we talked about how the ultimate maintenance is to not get the toilet dirty, and the difference in the influence of art and design. One of the ideas was a "soundtrack for a fictional movie." It was a relatively campaign-like thing centered around music. I was fascinated by the project itself, and I created a solid plot for the "fictional movie." I think it was because there was no pressure to actually make it, but on the contrary, the idea had a strong vitality. When Yanai saw it, he started saying that it would be better if it wasn't fictional. I said that the point of the project was that it was fictional, but he replied that it would be better to make it into some kind of video.

* THE TOKYO TOILET This project is revitalizing 17 public toilets in Shibuya, Tokyo. Sixteen designers active around the world designed each toilet.

When I was thinking about "fictional movies," I was vaguely thinking about "Tokyo." Even now, buildings continue to be built in Tokyo, and the sky is covered with the obsession that we must grow somewhere. It may be the fate of a city. But underneath that sky, there are many hearts that are tired of the speed and weight. The scary thing about the word "year-on-year comparison." Maybe it's more likely to be the case for people who are sensitive to feeling. The distortion is manifested in various ways without the person being aware of it. It may be an exaggeration to say that something that is aware of such things can save us, but it may give us a sense that, "Oh, maybe it's okay."

That's what Yamada Taichi's dramas were to me. Thanks to his depiction of suffocation, I felt a seed of hope in them. I thought about such things quite innocently.

“PERFECT DAYS”ⓒ 2023 MASTER MIND Ltd.

When it came time to make a movie or video, Yanai told me that it would be good to make something that would make people excited when they saw the film in an article or something before they knew the content. That's what happens when you say "Spielberg" or "Tarantino", right? Isn't it very important that there is something that everyone can get excited about? I thought this was a really important point. In order to make a project work, we tend to unconsciously eliminate things that we can't read, and that certainly creates a sense of déjà vu. Things that give a sense of déjà vu don't move people's hearts. The scale of the setup and the delicacy of the story can coexist.

It was decided at that time that we would have a foreign director. The Day After on, we researched various directors, thoroughly simulated how they make movies, and what would happen if they were to go along with our plan. I had no experience or route to make movies like that, so I was always groping around. The reason why we ended up with a method that was completely different from the common sense method of making a plan and presenting it to a movie company may be because we didn't set the goal of making a movie in the first place. But that turned out to be a success.

Among the many candidates, we found out that we both loved Wenders, and we got excited. We thought that since we both like him, we should give him a shot. At that time, we thought that even if we were rejected, it would be an honor, and that since he has a different style from Hollywood, there might be a chance, and that people might find him interesting because he's not commercial. So we wrote a letter together.

Yanai-san wrote me a detailed letter about the whole project and why I thought it had to be Wenders. The first four short stories would be shot in a documentary style to depict the existence of fiction. I think it was a letter that was difficult to turn down, in a good way, because it was something that only someone like you, who has walked both paths, could do.

The cleaner will be played by one of Japan's best actors.