(Tokyo) wings of desire to Buena Vista Social Clubthe work of Wim Wenders is eclectic, and the German director found his latest inspiration… in Tokyo’s public toilets.
Posted at 10:17 a.m.
The European film giant, 76, is preparing a new film about the Tokyo Toilet art project, an urban renewal project in which renowned architects are transforming 17 rather drab toilets in Shibuya ward into works of art. ‘art.
One of them is equipped with colored and transparent cabins which become opaque when the door is closed, and another is decorated with wooden panels created by the architect of the Olympic Stadium, Kengo Kuma.
All of these new facilities are free, wheelchair accessible and kept immaculately clean by a team of cleaners.
PHOTO HIRO KOMAE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
One of the toilets is equipped with colored and transparent cabins which become opaque when the door is closed.
“There is something very Japanese about this idea, about this whole setting. I almost think it’s a utopian idea,” Wim Wenders said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“The toilet is a place where everyone is the same. There are no rich and poor, no old and young, everyone is part of humanity”.
“Precious place”
PHOTO SHUJI KAJIYAMA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“There is something very Japanese about this idea, about this whole setting. I almost think it’s a utopian idea,” Wim Wenders said at a press conference on Wednesday. We see him in the company of actor Koji Yakusho who will play the role of a cleaner.
The director said he was approached by the organizers of the renovation project, who inspired him to make the film, which brings together four short stories, with the famous Japanese actor Koji Yakusho in the role of a cleaner.
“I love architecture. In another life, I would certainly like to be an architect”, confessed Wim Wenders who said he was particularly happy to work with the famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who contributed to the project with a sparkling circular structure fitted with thin slats letting light through. ‘air.
PHOTO SHUJI KAJIYAMA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
One of the toilets is decorated with wooden panels created by Olympic Stadium architect Kengo Kuma.
“I was so happy when I saw his toilet, how he worked with the light…. I thought, this is a precious place, ”recounted the director.
Twelve of Tokyo’s 17 new toilets have been completed and are in use.
In many countries, “public toilets are not seen as something beautiful,” said Tadao Ando. “So I thought that these beautiful toilets could convey a sense of Japan’s beauty to people all over the world,” he explained.
This is not the first time that Wim Wenders has worked in Japan: his 1985 film Tokyo Ga is a tribute to the city as seen by film master Yasujiro Ozu, and he also made a documentary about fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto.