Wim Wenders’ new film Perfect Days is released in UK cinemas today (February 23), with a glittering rock’n’roll soundtrack. Read on to find out which songs are included in the film.
Wenders co-wrote the film alongside Takuma Takasaki, and it stars Koji Yakusho (Babel, 13 Assassins) in the lead role as a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo. The character spends much of his day listening to music and reading his favourite books.
The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, as well as the Best Actor prize for Yakusho. It also became the first ever Japanese nominee for the Best International Feature Film award at the Oscars not to be directed by a Japanese filmmaker.
German director Wenders is considered a major figure in the New German Cinema movement of the 1970s, and is best known for his films Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire and Buena Vista Social Club.
What songs are on the Perfect Days soundtrack?
The film sees Yakusho’s character regularly listening to music on his commute to work. The songs in the film are as follows:
The Animals – ‘The House of the Rising Sun’
The Velvet Underground – ‘Pale Blue Eyes’
Otis Redding – ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’
Patti Smith – ‘Redondo Beach’
The Rolling Stones – ‘(Walkin’ Thru The) Sleepy City’
Lou Reed – ‘Pefect Day’
Sanchiko Kanenobu – ‘Aoi Sakana’
The Kinks – ‘Sunny Afternoon’
Maki Asakawa – ‘The House of the Rising Sun’
Van Morrison – ‘Brown Eyed Girl’
Nina Simone – ‘Feeling Good’
Patrick Wilson – ‘Perfect Day’
What has Wim Wenders said about the song choices in the film?
Speaking to NME about the way that the Hirayama character chooses the music he listens to, Wenders said: “Maybe he’s clinging to the past. But he’s clinging a little bit also to his youth and he loves that music. He chooses in the morning exactly what he’s going to listen to that day. And it’s not random.”
He went on to describe Lou Reed as “a mighty voice in the film”, and called Nina Simone “one of the great heroes of my life and for some other people”.