It is Groundhog Day but backwards, with this Japanese 'Phil', Hirayama, living what appears to be a perfectly contented day over and over, cleaning Tokyo toilets and pausing occasionally to admire light through trees, wood grain, or reflected colour, but upheaval eventually arrives as director Wim Wenders throws unexpected encounters at this toilet cleaner, highlighting the delicate balance between the uncomplaining endurance demanded by Japanese society and an individual's private contentment in the detail of a dazzling impermanence.
★★★★☆
CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS
