Perfect Days - Movie Review
Perfect Days - Movie Review
Critics Score - 9 of 10
General Audience Score - 6 of 10
SYNOPSIS - We begin our morning routine as we watch Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) get out of bed and fold his blankets and as we follow his around, we watch the intricacies of his life, down to the minutest details. Speaking of which, some of these things we see performed many times, the details of this man’s life are what we’re here to examine, most of the things he does, interactions he has and these intricacies, we’re allowed plenty of time to reflect on the simplicities of his life and the wondrous beauty that can be found therein. That is, if you’re willing to look for it. We watch as he puts up his reading glasses and book from the night before on shelves adorned with paperback books and archaic audio cassette tapes, for those who remember such things. There is no TV seen in Hirayama’s simple apartment, he goes downstairs, puts some toothpaste on his toothbrush and begins to brush his teeth, trims his salt and pepper mustache and then brings a water spray bottle back upstairs for ten to twelve small trees he has in separate pots in a little makeshift garden. He gets dressed and we observe him putting on his blue, one piece, Carhartt style uniform with the large words “The Tokyo Toilet”, printed on the back. One of the few peculiarities I latched onto immediately upon watching, as he opens his front door and steps outside, he looks up at the sky for a few moments, which he looks up quite frequently in the film, but he grins, breathes in the morning air and experiences the joy of being alive another day with breath in his lungs and life in his veins.
He walks over to a vending machine, slips some coins in and retrieves a cold coffee drink before getting into his work van and beginning his drive to work. Along the drive Hirayama observes the buildings, people and views that his commute offers, but after a few minutes he pops a cassette tape into his stereo and we begin to hear The Animals playing The House Of The Rising Sun. All of this may sound incredibly mundane and after we watch his routine repeatedly with slight differences here and there for three days straight, the word monotonous might come to mind as well. And to say that the film is slower paced is an unfair but completely accurate assessment. Perfect Days definitely qualifies as a “slice of life” type of movie, but an appreciation for what Wenders is serving up is needed for this film to not seem repetitive and drag for it’s two hour runtime. As the film enters it’s second act, some of the people in Hirayama’s life like his niece, coworker and his coworker’s girlfriend, and even a man he meets that used to be married to a woman who runs a nearby restaurant, prove to be the source of fascination and make for some absolutely riveting cinema. But by the finale, for those that tuned into the wavelength the film is transmitting on, some of the moments hit like a hammer and completely overwhelm the viewer, leaving one to only watch, mouth agape, at the wonder of cinema on display.
Wim Wenders is undoubtedly a master of the arthouse film, his direction is skillful, purposeful and his ability to craft the film he desired to make is clearly evident. Although the screenplay is terribly light on dialogue, in fact there are long periods when there’s no dialogue and Hiramaya, the protagonist, doesn’t say anything, but the moments of impact are poignant and reverberate throughout the film like an old Van Morrison song. The editing along with the angles that the camerawork utilized help break up the film in such a way that I way never bored, although the subject matter being what it was, none of that will matter and there will be some audiences that are bored stiff. I say this as someone who fell asleep in the theatre watching the new racing film Gran Turismo just last month, yet I was never bored during Perfect Days. Make of that what you will. The film’s main actor, Yakusho, was really doing some impressive work despite the reserved and subtle performance, but he does get one Oscar worthy scene before the film ends. As far as the themes covered, there’s a real sense of appreciation and gratitude on display, our protagonist has an unending joy and thankfulness for each day he’s able to be alive, which is truly a wonderful way to experience life. It almost makes one envious because as humans we’re so often crippled by our own worries, concerns, sadnesses, envies and various mental handicaps, not all of which we have complete control over. But here this man, while fictional, is portrayed as having very little to his name and yet he has everything he wants, his contentment make him the most enviable man alive. Thinking about being jealous of a man that cleans toilets all day and has virtually nothing is a message that resonated with me deeply.
SUMMARY - This movie, it’s subject matter and themes, like so many things in life, may simply come down to the old adage, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” That being said, this film wasn’t quite Perfect, but these Days you just don’t find many films with the simplicity yet meaningful insights like the one I pondered, “Where does happiness come from?”, after I finished watching Perfect Days.
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