Tayyaba
The 36th edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival will get underway on October 23 with a gala screening of Wim Wenders’ Tokyo-set drama Perfect Days. The festival also announced that Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One, the latest installment in the enduringly popular Godzilla franchise, will close the festival. Here’s what we know about the two films:
What is Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’ about?
Perfect Days is set to make its Asian premiere at the Tokyo Fest where it will be presented by Wim Wenders, who is also serving as the Jury President this year. The film, which stars Koji Yakusho, is a critical hit that has been well-received since its debut at Cannes, where it won the French festival’s Ecumenical Jury Prize and a best actor award for Yakusho. The movie basically follows a simple toilet cleaner in Tokyo, whose past is revealed as he encounters various people throughout the story. It will set the tone of the festival on the opening night and has attendees excited to witness the cinematic masterpiece.
“I’m excited to be back at the Tokyo International Film Festival, happening 60 years after the death and therefore 120 years after Ozu’s birth, my declared master, which makes the occasion very special to me. I’m more than proud to present Perfect Days as the 36th TIFF’s Opening Film,” said Wenders about the opportunity to open the event with his new film.
‘Godzilla Minus One’: Closing Film
It’s fitting that Godzilla Minus One, a period film from studio Toho, will close the Tokyo International Film Festival, considering the franchise’s longstanding relationship with this event. Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the movie takes us back to the aftermath of wartime Japan as the country looks to rebuild but is faced with a new, giant terror: Godzilla. The screening also coincides with the 70th anniversary of this monstrous icon that has captured the Japanese imagination, as well as the rest of the world’s, over time.
In a statement Yamazki said: “The Tokyo International Film Festival was the place where Godzilla made its debut. The opportunity to have an exclusive screening before its official release at such a prestigious film festival feels like destiny and is truly an honor.”