Co-presented with Telescope Film

KINO!Film Salon is a monthly online club to discuss films from Germany. 

How it works: Each month, we choose a German film currently available to stream on U.S. platforms, watch it independently, and come together for a hosted conversation with other fans of German cinema.

At our August session, we’ll discuss Wim Wenders’ joyful, Oscar-nominated ode to everyday life, Perfect Days (2023). 

Calm and measured, the film accompanies Tokyo public toilet cleaner Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) as he goes about his daily rituals: listening to cassettes on his commute, eating his lunch in a shady shrine courtyard, taking pictures of trees, and reading by lamplight before bed. Meanwhile, his encounters with his coworkers, the unexpected arrival of his niece, and the black-and-white abstractions of his dreams offer glimpses into his inner world. 

“The characteristic richness of Wenders’ magical, humane film is undeniable,” writes KINO! Film Salon host Jim Kolmar. “Perfect Days feels almost revolutionary in its invitation to slow down, observe, and reflect on what matters to us. We might not figure that out immediately, but this extraordinary, generous film gives us permission to allow for uncertainty and arrive at our own conclusions in our own time.”

Perfect Days world premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where Yakusho was presented with the Award for Best Actor. It was nominated for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards, selected by Japan as the first film by a non-Japanese director to do so. 

Hosted by Jim Kolmar

Jim programs for SXSW and Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival and was a founding committee member of Festival Internacional de Cine Tulum (FICTU). He has participated in numerous international festival juries, panels, and committees.

KINO!Film Salon is a production ofTelescope Film, in partnership with the German Film Office.

Perfect Days
Dir. Wim Wenders
Japan/Germany, 2023
125 min.
With Kōji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Yumi Asō, Aoi Yamada, Arisa Nakano