The Most Uplifting Film of Last Year Is About a Man Who Cleans Toilets

The big picture

• perfect days
  by Wim Wenders captures the beauty of daily routines in a minimalist, life-affirming film.
• The film explores finding satisfaction in mundane tasks, showing the beauty in simplicity and routine.
• The film serves as a reminder to appreciate the ordinary and embrace self-acceptance in the digital age.

2023 will probably be one of the most exciting years for cinema of the century. Headed by the double feature that took the culture by storm barbie i Oppenheimer, the year featured a plethora of artistic successes from some of our most beloved filmmakers. Movies and the theatrical experience, if only for a brief period, returned to monoculture for the first time since the pandemic. Academy Awards nominations and snubs are a guaranteed source of derision among viewers, but in the 2023 Oscar season, all 10 Best Picture nominees were admired to one degree or another. . Everyone will have their favorites from this year, but what has already slipped through the cracks yes perfect daysa film about the banality of life that is an expression of life affirmation today.

How Wim Wenders Connects with All Audiences in 'Perfect Days'

perfect days reached the public with great anticipation due to its success at the Cannes Festival, as the protagonist of the film, Koji Yakusho, won best actor honors for his performance as Hirayama, a quiet and lonely public bath attendant who leads a pedestrian life of cyclical routines in Tokyo. The director of the film, Wim Wendersthe legendary German visionary behind classics like Paris, Texas i wings of desire, is a draw for passionate moviegoers. After years of reserved fanfare throughout the century, Wenders returned with a remarkable film on his hands. The film, refreshingly devoid of plot, narrates many days in the life of Hirayama, a man defined by methodical procedure. He repeats his structured and ritualized life every day, and Wenders takes the audience through the repetitive cycle. Hirayama wakes up, listens to classic rock cassette tapes on the way to work, cleans toilets, photographs trees during his break, visits a local bar after work, and reads a paperback before falling asleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. It sounds monotonous, and maybe it is, but Wenders miraculously finds a transcendent beauty in Hirayama's mundane life.

Among the mainstream audience, there is a lack of interest in foreign cinema. International films carry the stigma of being inaccessible or inherently too clever for Western viewers. For some, the prospect of reading subtitles on a television screen is too demanding. Viewers skeptical of the influence a foreign film can have should look no further perfect days, as its minimalist style and concept touches everyone. The film itself is an example of the broken rift between the text and Western viewers. Wenders, a German filmmaker, told a story very well about a Japanese man who lives in his home country and speaks his language. Although it reflects a social class divide, as Hirayama lives in a non-gentrified neighborhood and works in an upscale neighborhood, perfect days could exist anywhere in the worldmaking it a truly perennial film.

In one way or another, we all share a kinship with Hirayama. Working unattractive and dead-end jobs is a facet of life. In the character's case, cleaning the city's public toilets, as posh as they look on screen, is perhaps the dirtiest line of work imaginable. Hirayama's job is so thankless that every time a person needs to use the restroom, they have to drop whatever they're doing and run out the door while they take care of business. At this moment, you can feel his anonymity as a human being. Hirayama goes to great lengths not to be noticed by anyone around him. Whether this is self-imposed or an order from her employer is unclear, but either way, her lack of agency gives the film an immediate wistful streak. It's only human nature to expect him to break his lonely, rigid routine.

The art of mundane procedure in “Perfect Days”

Most directors would have emphasized the pathos of Hirayama's lifestyle. At first glance, loneliness combined with a low-wage job is the nadir of civilized life. Wenders, whose earlier films specialized in sensual liveliness through simple gestures, reject the emotional situation of worldliness and extract its unexploited beauty. Few storytelling devices are more satisfying than procedural representation, especially for those who excel in a specific field. Film deconstruction procedures are usually reserved for police/journalistic investigations or the artistic process. Conventional thinking says that no one needs open curtains for the day-to-day operations of a bathroom janitor. Wenders, who shows a keen eye for procedural filmmaking, presents scrubbing toilets as a fascinating exercise. The quietness and ease with which he carries himself at work characterize Hirayama as a kind of blue-collar painter. Where his co-worker, Takashi (Tokyo Emoto), habitually late for work and generally in disarray, Hirayama is unfazed no matter the circumstances. This contrast makes this low custodian a respectable demonstration of professionalism.

Perfect Days is a beautiful everyday expression because Wenders identifies a relaxing comfort in Hirayama's recreational life. His methodical approach to eating on the park bench, photographing trees and patronizing a bar is displayed in the same tone as his morning routine and work procedure: it looks like just another day at the office. As Wenders patiently follows Hirayama through the rhythms of his unenviable social and economic status, these moments of peace are rewarding. The poetic sentiment of finding beauty in the mundane is easy to express on paper, but without a living narrator like Wenders, seeing Hirayama continue alone inside a bar or bookstore would still feel alienating. Koji Yakusho, with limited dialogue and the most delicate facial expressions, conveys a sincere tranquility in these scenes.

'Perfect Days' is a life-affirming film about the simple beauties of life

As its central character, perfect daysHumility is his calling card. Wenders never breaks with Hirayama's perspective, which keeps the film grounded and free of heavy commentary. Because of Wenders' poetic approach to capturing mundane beauty, perfect days it's the life-affirming film of today. Deep down, we are all restless beings, no matter how rich or socially intelligent we are. From everyday tasks to the abstract concerns of our future, people, especially in a world immersed in digital platforms that expose us to everything, train themselves to think that they are not good enough. Instead of expanding our worldview, the information overload of the digital world has made people feel aimless. The pressure emanating from social media causes apprehension of being alone and mundane.

Hirayama lives in an ostensible time capsule. Instead of taking up digital cameras or Spotify, he unleashes his passion for photography and music by using 35mm cameras and cassette tapes. His mixtape consists of songs from the 60s and 70s Lou Reed (whose song “Perfect Day” gave the film its name), Van Morrisoni Patti Smithand choose to read the classic novels of William Faulkner i Patricia Highsmith–without an E-Reader in sight. This is not the behavior of a paranoid Luddite, but rather, a man comforted by the simplicity and direct nature of his archaic media. The delicate construction of one's own utopia in the midst of a confusing and often treacherous world is the ideal fantasy for any aimless or discouraged individual. Wim Wenders uses Hirayama as a mirror for the audience to reflect on the depth of his ordinary life, even after his estranged sister, Keiko (Yumi Aso), is offered for his humble status as a custodian when they meet. This should break Hirayama's spirit, but by the end of the movie, Nina Simone“Feeling Good” plays during his commute to work, and the minimalist beauty of his life overwhelms him, and so does the audience.perfect days gracefully paints a dream world existing in our contemporary universe of how to unlock happiness by being true to ourselves.

perfect days is available to rent on Amazon in the US

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