Usually when I see a movie, I review it within a day or two so the movie is still fresh in my mind. I waited more than a month to review Perfect Days because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why did this particular movie leave such a powerful impression? I think it’s the movie’s simplicity. It does only a few things, does them repetitively, but does them so well. It may not be a perfect movie, but it’s much richer than its simple approach suggests. It’s a movie with conviction and style. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
A quick summary of the movie is generally warranted here, and like the movie, I’ll keep it simple. Perfect Days is about a man who cleans public toilets in Tokyo for a living. He lives alone is a small apartment, repeats the same daily routines in ritualistic fashion, and strives to achieve moments of joy every single day, even when interruptions to his routine—for instance, a teenage niece runs away from home to stay with him for a few days—throw off the rhythm of his life.
The main character Hirayama is played by notable Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, whom I remember fondly from several Kiroshi Kurosawa horror movies (for example, Cure (1997) and Creepy (2016)), but he’s more famous for the international hits Shall We Dance (1996), Babel (2006), and Thirteen Assassins (2010). His performance in this film is wonderfully expressive with very little dialogue as he is the sole actor for much of the movie. There are other actors in the movie, but Yakusho is in every scene.
The movie is directed by Wim Wenders, a German-born director who has worked in Europe, the U.S., and Asia. He achieved fame with The American Friend (1977), critical acclaim with Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987), and career implosion with Until the End of the World (1991). Of those films, I’ve seen only Paris, Texas, which I enjoyed but found a bit slow. When we went to see Perfect Days, I knew nothing about the movie, and was surprised to see that Wenders had directed it. Fortunately, we gave the movie a try, and we were immensely satisfied by it.
The movie opens with a long sequence of Hirayama waking and preparing to get ready for work. The scene is several minutes long and there’s no dialogue as Hirayama lives alone. Although nothing remarkable happens during this opening sequence, we begin to sense the character’s daily routines. As the movie progresses, it repeats many of these scenes over and over again with little variation. Although Hirayama is not stuck in a time loop like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day, he ultimately approaches life in a similar way, trying to find happiness in the ordinary. Every time he opens the door to his apartment to venture outside, he looks up at the sky with a sense of wonder.
An observation about Tokyo’s public toilets featured in the movie: They are like small, beautifully-designed chapels, quite unlike the public bathrooms I’ve encountered in U.S. cities. And of course they’re remarkably clean, even before Hirayama arrives to clean them. I saw no graffiti, vomit, feces, trash, used condoms, or dirty needles. The sinks and toilets all seemed to be in good working order. Now, I know it’s only a movie, so perhaps actual public toilets in Tokyo are far more disgusting. But clearly as a society we need to do a better job at providing clean, functional public toilets for our citizens.
So why did I enjoy Perfect Days so much? Yakusho’s performance is fascinating, the photography is visually stunning, and the soundtrack is a pleasing collection of retro hits from the Sixties and Seventies, including songs from Lou Reed, The Kinks, Patty Smith, Van Morrison, and Nina Simone. Although some viewers found the movie’s repetition tiresome, I found it thrilling, just as I find every sunrise thrilling, no doubt due to my age. Wenders found a way to shoot Hirayama’s repetitive routines with variety and style, so I was never bored. The movie runs just over two hours, so it doesn’t outlast its welcome.
Most of us are too preoccupied with our frantic, busy lives that we rarely have time to pause for reflection. Perfect Days is a movie that forces you contemplate life, if only for a couple hours. What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose? What brings us happiness? If something causes us sadness or anxiety, how can we achieve peace and tranquility again? Although these questions sound deep and philosophical, they’re not necessarily weighty or ponderous. All of us seek happiness. Perfect Days shows that even someone with very few material possessions, an unappealing job, and a solitary lifestyle can find happiness in simple, ordinary routines.
Perfect Days captures the beauty of mundanity. I may not see the movie again soon, but I’ll try to make do by living its example. Each day is precious, whether it’s perfect or not. The closing shot of Hirayama driving to work one morning in his van, listening to music, and experiencing a myriad of emotions while gazing at the sunrise is perfectly sublime, a fitting ending to an exceptionally well-crafted movie.
cool lima bean 