In today's fast-paced, chaotic world, there are directors like Wim Wenders, who refuse to swim downstream and offer a remedy - the film-meditation "Great Days". It premiered in Cannes, and Koji Yakusho, who played the lead role, was recognized as the best actor. If during the festive period you want to pause and take a deep breath, find time to be with yourself, instead of rushing through the crowds of shoppers in shopping malls, you can do it from December 22. In "Romuva", when you come to watch "Great Days".
All accumulated life and creative experience and wisdom of Wim Wenders fit into "Great Days" a meditative story about the joys of everyday life. More than one journalist and critic compared the poetry of Wim Wenders' latest film to his already classic film "The Sky Over Berlin". Especially since the main character - Hirayama, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo - likes to be invisible, like the Berlin angels used to be, observing the environment and people, photographing trees and enjoying every detail of human life.
Hirayama's philosophy of life echoes the idea of Wenders' film - the director tried to create a utopian film in the current reality, when we have all become workaholics, our agendas are too full, and our eyes are glued to the mobile phone: lying down, walking or driving. Hirayama's character realizes this, so in an endlessly chaotic world, routine and persistent adherence to it helps to keep calm and think that at least something is under the control of the person himself.
It is also interesting that the director who created almost a haiku film in Japan and about Japanese culture is German. But this is not the first time Wenders has created in the country: he once went there in search of the old Japan, which he believed was disappearing, and which was depicted in the films of Yasujirō Ozu, Wenders' great teacher. According to the director, the idea of this work was born in Tokyo and could not be realized anywhere else. However, Wenders' choice to make a film not about his culture at the same time is not surprising - more than one film critic has called him a director without borders. In an interview, Wenders himself mentioned that after the Covid-19 pandemic that has weakened the world, Japan has become like an oasis where you can learn to communicate with people again, enjoy life every day. And also - that the main character Hirayama's life choices and manner, his ability to enjoy what he has, reflected the dreams of the entire creative team.
"Great Days" is a cinema about the human condition and existence. Capturing and capturing this state is the aesthetic of Wim Wenders' cinema, because time and space are the main building blocks of this director.
Some film reviewers call "Great Days" the most beautiful film of the year and admit to crying like little children during the premiere. According to them, the director does not try to manipulate the emotions of the audience, but allows them to watch the waking city with his hero every morning, the leaves of the trees at lunchtime, and listen to audio cassettes with Lou Reed and Patti Smith records in the car. Therefore, "Great Days" is an ideal film that can help you take a breather from the festive noise, go to where you want to be at that moment. After all, this is what Christmas is all about - pausing, reflecting on the year, beautiful memories, quiet time with the closest people and the feeling that everything is or will be fine. It's just that sometimes, like the movie's hero Hirayama, you just need to listen or hum Nina Simone's "Feeling Good."
The film won awards not only at Cannes - Japan chose the German-directed film as a candidate for the Oscars, and it triumphed as the best film of the year at the Asian Oscars, beating strong film industries such as China and South Korea.