Labor Day
In celebration of Labor Day, we present a selection of films about work. And in the spirit of this year’s Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders, we’ve chosen films that explore the nature of the work itself, whatever kind of work it may be.
Perfect Days
The film follows the daily life of Hirayama, who works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Germany • 2023
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Tokio Emoto, Yumi Asou, Sayuri Ishikawa
- Genre Drama
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The Taste of Things
(Le Pot-au-feu de Dodin Bouffant)
The story of Eugenie, a gifted cook, and Dodin, the fine gourmet with whom she has been working for over the last 20 years.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2023
- Director Tran Anh Hung
- Cast Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel, Pierre Gagnaire
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Acorn TV, AcornTV Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Acorn TV Apple TV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
A middle-aged woman hires a young sex worker in hopes of feeling pleasure for the first time in her life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2022
- Director Sophie Hyde
- Cast Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack, Isabella Laughland, Les Mabaleka, Lennie Beare
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Hulu
Zero Fucks Given
(Rien à foutre)
Cassandre works as a flight attendant for a budget airline, going from flight to party with no thought to the future.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2022
- Director Emmanuel Marre, Julie Lecoustre
- Cast Adèle Exarchopoulos, Alexandre Perrier, Mara Taquin, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Jonathan Sawdon
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Boiling Point
Enter the relentless pressure of a restaurant kitchen as a head chef wrangles his team on the busiest day of the year.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2021
- Director Philip Barantini
- Cast Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Alice May Feetham, Hannah Walters, Malachi Kirby, Izuka Hoyle
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Hoopla, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, ShortsTV Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Mr. Bachmann and His Class
(Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse)
This inspiring documentary explores the close bond between a German school teacher and his students.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2021
- Director Maria Speth
- Cast Dieter Bachmann, Aynur Bal, Önder Cavdar
- Genre Documentary
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Honeyland
Hatidze Muratova, one of the last "bee hunters" in Europe, raises bees based in a sustainable and minimally invasive manner.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Macedonia • 2019
- Director Tamara Kotevska
- Cast Hatidzhe Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Kanopy
The Chambermaid
(La Camarista)
A chambermaid at a luxurious Mexico City hotel confronts the monotony of long workdays with quiet examinations of forgotten belongings.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2019
- Director Lila Avilés
- Cast Gabriela Cartol, Teresa Sánchez, Agustina Quinci
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Second Mother
(Que Horas Ela Volta?)
Unspoken class barriers within a home come crashing down when the live-in housekeeper's daughter suddenly appears.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2015
- Director Anna Muylaert
- Cast Regina Casé, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli, Michel Joelsas, Helena Albergaria
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Winter Nomads
(Hiver Nomade)
Two shepherds in Switzerland move 800 sheep 600km over four months with the help of three donkeys and four dogs.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Switzerland, France, Germany • 2012
- Director Manuel von Stürler
- Cast Pascal Eguisier, Carole Noblanc, Jean-Paul Peguiron
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress
A look into the elite culinary world of El Bulli.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2011
- Director Gereon Wetzel
- Cast Ferran Adrià, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, Eugeni de Diego, Aitor Lozano
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy, Hoopla
Pina
Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France, United Kingdom • 2011
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Regina Advento, Malou Airaudo, Ruth Amarante, Pina Bausch, Jorge Puerta, Mechthild Großmann
- Genre Documentary
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Thank You for Smoking
Tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor tries to balance his job of marketing smoking to the public with the responsibility of raising a son.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2005
- Director Jason Reitman
- Cast Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand