Actor Yakusho Koji is masterclass

Recommending 'The Days', 'Perfect Days' and 'Under the Open Sky'.

The plot of ex-prisoners attempting to reintegrate into our society (which doesn't care for them) has been repetitive. However, despite moments of unnecessary melodrama, Director Miwa Nishikawa made a fine movie about an aged, ex-Yakuza trying to live or die "under the open sky".

The main character, well performed by Yakusho Koji, kept me involved and ensured I watched more of him.

‘The Days’ is a captivating Netflix miniseries about the nightmare the staff at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant faced after the Great East Japan Earthquake (and tsunami) in 2011.

Koji’s UNMISSABLE MASTERPIECE is 'Perfect Days', the crowning achievement of his approximate 50 acting award wins. It’s directed by Germany’s Wim Wenders who gave us the classics ‘Paris, Texas’ and ‘Wings of Desire’.

I’m looking forward to ‘Shall We Dance?’ (not the one with Richard Gere!).