Wim Wenders continues his fascination with people on the edge of society in Perfect Days, a film about a toilet cleaner in Tokyo.
There’s little in the way of a story, as the events of Hirayama’s (Kōji Yakusho) daily routine unfold without much in the way of explanation or reason. He is mildly annoyed by a young coworker (Tokio Emoto), is visited by his niece (Arisa Nakano), plays a game of noughts and crosses with an anonymous partner and follows a routine that sees him do the exact same thing every day in unsparing detail.
At one level, the film can be read as a gentle paean to simple living, and finding meaning in observing beauty and pursuing perfection in the smallest things, and at that it is almost a euphoric experience as you are forced to follow Hirayama at his own pace and to see things with his eyes. You are informed that his embrace of isolated asceticism is a conscious act, made apparent by a knowing nod to a monk in a park he frequents. The level below that reading is more ambiguous, and has a hint of profound sadness that threatens to overwhelm you. We are not given Hirayama’s backstory, but we can discern that he has abandoned a very different life, lost contact with his family, and is seized by frustrated longings. It becomes clear that while his (almost entirely unspoken) philosophy is beautiful, it is also a defence mechanism. He seems to be avoiding something, evidenced by his careful observation of a local disturbed homeless man who perhaps he might become.
Some of the clues to his condition are in what seems like a sense of regression. He listens to older music exclusively on cassettes, something he would have done at a much younger age. He uses an old film camera to take photos that he curates and keeps in a series of labelled boxes that he will probably never open. He plays children’s games to defuse a hard conversation. Has he suffered a terrible tragedy and never recovered, freezing in place and taking solace in the simple pleasures of his past? Wenders and co-writer Takuma Takasaki are carefully silent on what lies behind Hirayama’s stoic demeanour.
If this sounds like a challenge to sit through, well, it might be for less patient viewers. For the patient, though, Perfect Days is a singular experience. It actually achieves what it’s setting out to do in making you appreciate the tiny, mundane moments of a toilet cleaner’s life. A lot of this is due to a flawless, nearly wordless performance by Kōji Yakusho, whose economy and subtlety of expression is almost heartbreaking in and of itself. His ability to convey seeing every day with fresh eyes might help you to do the same.
Perfect Days will just leave some viewers puzzled, but it will puzzle thoughtful viewers in the best possible way.
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