Hirayama 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.
Perfect Days (2023), directed by Wim Wenders, is a contemplative film that invites you into the life of Tokyo toilet cleaner Hirayama, played by Koji Yakusho. These two and a half hours of slice-of-life are a meditation on the simplicity of everyday life, the passage of time, and the co-existence of joy and melancholy.One of the central themes of Perfect Days is the beauty and fulfillment found in simplicity. Hirayama’s life is carefully structured around his daily routine.
Perfect Days has a kind of ambient urban charm and Yakusho anchors the film with his understated wisdom and presence: rightly, Wenders doesn’t reveal too much too early about his hero and doesn’t try to tie everything up too neatly. But I found something a little too subdued in this film, though the evocation of Tokyo itself is very uncliched, despite the emphasis on something that is the subject of so many touristy jokes: the loos. Not perfect, but engaging enough.
