International Art House Series
A deceptively simple film about noticing and savoring the tiny joys of our everyday, ordinary lives. Nominated for a 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho) is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world. Yakusho took home Best Actor at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. [124 min; drama; Japanese with English subtitles]
The short film Sol Folium will precede the film. Sol Folium explores the impressionistic abilities of the Bolex H16 to translate and express the grace of the fall season into a dizzying mosaic of movement, emotion, color, and memory. Shot entirely in-camera on a 100' roll of Kodak's 16mm Ektachrome, the film was a self-conscious challenge to slow down, exist in the present, and appreciate the simple beauty of our natural world. Directed by IU student Caleb Allison (3 min).
This screening is supported by the IU Institute for European Studies, a Jean Monnet EU Centre of Excellence.
"Perfect Days is another masterwork from Wenders, a recognition of life’s curiosities, the small details that make it all worthwhile, and finding beauty in the overlooked things in life." — Ross Bonaime, Collider
"Perfect Days is engrossing in its monotony and fascinating when something disrupts it, a portrait of a simple but beautiful existence that serves as a life-affirming reminder to value the little moments as much as we do the monumental ones." — Graeme Guttmann, Screen Rant
"Zen and the art of toilet cleaning? You’d better believe it. This is as gentle as it gets—a humble little film, maybe, but an enriching one. It’s a soul-cleanse." — Alex Godfrey, Empire
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
Feb 20
