Wim & vigour
New Zealand Listener|January 27 - February 02, 2024
Prolific German director Wim Wenders talks about how his acclaimed new film about the life of a Tokyo toilet janitor went from side project to awards contender.
RUSSELL BAILLIE
Wim & vigour

Peering through his small blue spectacles, Wim Wenders looms in owlish close-up on the screen from his suite at the Sunset Marquis, the very rockstar hotel in West Hollywood. It might seem odd that the veteran German director, whose films include Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire and Buena Vista Social Club – and whose latest, Perfect Days, is a very modest, very delightful film about a dutiful Japanese ablutions cleaner – is ensconced deep in luxury La-La Land.

But he’s there on a campaign. The new film is on the Oscar shortlist of 15 for Best International Feature after the Japanese awards committee named it as the country’s entry. Yes, Wenders was surprised when he got the news. He thinks it’s due to the high regard in which his leading man Kōji Yakusho is held in Japan, especially after his best actor award at Cannes last year for his expressive, minimal-dialogue performance.

So, Herr Wenders and Yakusho-san are in Tinseltown with a translator to drum up votes for a nomination. In the charm offensive, Wenders says he’s playing second fiddle to the man he calls the greatest actor in the world. “I’m just his German director sidekick.”

The Oscar category they are vying for was previously “Best Foreign Language Film”. What a pity, the Listener suggests, there isn’t one for “best foreign language film in which the language is foreign, even to the film’s director”.

“That category I would win,” he replies, laughing.

Talking to the dry-witted godfather of European cinema about his low-budget Japanese film while he’s at Hollywood ground zero might seem incongruous. But Los Angeles – and indeed America – once loomed large in the 78-year-old’s wanderlust career.

Denne historien er fra January 27 - February 02, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 27 - February 02, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEW ZEALAND LISTENERSe alt
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024