Perfect Days (2023) (2023)
February 17, 2024 12:25 PM - Subscribe
Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Directed by Wim Wenders. Koji Yakusho won the Palme d'Or for Best Actor for his performance as Hirayama. Perfect Days is Japan's submission for this year's Oscars, even though it was directed by a German actor who doesn't speak Japanese (the film's language).
Currently in limited release in the U.S.
Directed by Wim Wenders. Koji Yakusho won the Palme d'Or for Best Actor for his performance as Hirayama. Perfect Days is Japan's submission for this year's Oscars, even though it was directed by a German actor who doesn't speak Japanese (the film's language).
Currently in limited release in the U.S.
I enjoyed it, but it takes a while to figure out how to read it as you're going along. And I think it's sadder than some reviews suggest. The protagonist's social existence, made up as it is almost exclusively of "weak ties"--casual coworkers in a high-turnover job and transactional relationships with diner countermen and a bar proprietress--is fragile, and the action, as it progresses, illuminates that subtly but unmistakably. You can try to find safety and calm in an ordered and repetitive existence, but the world keeps moving under you.
posted by praemunire at 1:29 PM on February 17 [1 favorite]
posted by praemunire at 1:29 PM on February 17 [1 favorite]
This is not a very normal movie, even from my german and Wenders-attuned perspective. Probably because of, you know, japanese sensibilities that I don't have.
It took me a while to get into the very subtle flow, but suddenly I was in and understood perfectly, what would happen and what wasn't ever going to.
There is real beauty in how this guy does his work, cares for what he loves especially if it requires a change of his daily routine.
I loved this movie.
posted by flamewise at 10:27 AM on February 19
It took me a while to get into the very subtle flow, but suddenly I was in and understood perfectly, what would happen and what wasn't ever going to.
There is real beauty in how this guy does his work, cares for what he loves especially if it requires a change of his daily routine.
I loved this movie.
posted by flamewise at 10:27 AM on February 19
I too loved this movie. There is a bit of melancholy in the movie and some unanswered questions about the protagonist's past but this is a joyful movie. Not joyful in the get up and shout for joy sense, but in a quiet peacefulness.
I came out of the movie feeling rested and optimistic. And I found that I envied Hiroyama's life who has enacted a sort of minimalism in his life by keeping only that which is worthwhile - art, books, a found family, and a life of simplicity.
posted by vacapinta at 6:50 AM on February 23 [2 favorites]
I came out of the movie feeling rested and optimistic. And I found that I envied Hiroyama's life who has enacted a sort of minimalism in his life by keeping only that which is worthwhile - art, books, a found family, and a life of simplicity.
posted by vacapinta at 6:50 AM on February 23 [2 favorites]
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posted by praemunire at 12:28 PM on February 17