Film Review #91: PERFECT DAYS

Film Review #91: PERFECT DAYS

 *This film review may contain plot spoilers, reader discretion is advised.*

A reminder of the beauty in quiet, diligent living in Wim Wenders’ quasi-documentary of a Japanese toilet cleaner’s cyclical routine.

Perfect Days is the perfect slice-of-life movie to catch a breather from our cosmopolitan lives, with its 4:3 aspect ratio framing delicate shots of Tokyo landscapes and remarkably nuanced acting by Koji Yakusho. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, winning the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Best Actor Award.

As a film that is co-scripted by Wenders and screenwriter Takuma Takasaki, perhaps a result of this cross-regional production between Germany and Japan is a more observational lens into Hirayama’s life. After all, he was first contacted by the Shibuya district on whether he would make a documentary about the Tokyo Toilet Project, an architecture project on renovating public toilet facilities. It was first about the toilets, then the story.

Film still from PERFECT DAYS

As routine as the middle-aged man’s life may be, he seems to seek solace and comfort in the same thing he does every day. He wakes up, brushes his teeth, looks at the trees, goes to scrub the same public toilet cubicles, eats at the same restaurant, reads and even dreams similar black-and-white montages in his sleep... There isn’t much going on in each frame, except a certain charm in the ordinary that permeates throughout the film.

Barely a line is spoken 30 minutes into the movie, if at all. It’s the visuals that speak volumes. The pace is unhurried, given the lack of a major arc in the story. It is a film more so to be felt than to be understood.

I feel how Hirayama is at peace with the laid-back routine and hobbies he picked up, such as photographing trees with a film camera, listening to cassette recordings in his van and gardening. These nostalgic analogue activities present a state of tranquillity in his routine, and they depict a zen-like character which he has developed from his life experiences.

But how did Hirayama become the way that he is in the film?

Film still from PERFECT DAYS

The film teases familial tensions when Hirayama’s sister arrives at his house to pick up his niece who had run away from home. Her chauffeur and slight surprise at what Hirayama does for a living delineates their different social backgrounds. Wenders sprinkles breadcrumbs in the movie for us to recognise a certain depth in Hirayama’s backstory, but there aren’t enough to satiate my desire to truly understand his character. Yakusho’s acting was subtle and it felt like he portrayed someone real — someone who really lived a life. I felt his emotions especially in the last five minutes of the film. While I do not fully know Hirayama, Yakusho made me care and feel for him through his moving performance.

The scenic views of Tokyo as the van cruises along the highways will definitely make Perfect Days a calming watch on a slow rainy day. It unfolds gracefully like a dream, allowing viewers a tranquil escape into a time of visual meditation. Perhaps we don’t have to understand what Hirayama has been through, but you will definitely feel something about the way he does what he does.