If nothing ever changed, wouldn't it be absurd?
Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2024
#10 : Perfect Days
There’s something indescribably rewarding about watching Wim Wenders’ ruminative study of a Tokyo toilet cleaner simply living out his days. The self-imposed stillness and moments of quiet reflection experienced by protagonist Hirayama, played with exquisite nuance by Kōji Yakusho, are bewitching against the lush, surprisingly stunning world of Japan’s outdoor public restrooms. To say that little happens in the film is a stretch; through interactions with strangers, colleagues and a visiting niece, we see glimpses of Hirayama’s psyche and past life. But it’s the private choices that he makes — the cassette he chooses for his drive to work, the perfect moment to photograph on his break, the way he organises his home — that help us get to know him best. A subtle symphony created from everyday events that will stay with you for a very long time.
I've seen quite a few reviews of this and they tend to use words like "medititive", "contemplative" and "langourous" which sound suspiciously like synonyms for "boring" to me - it is, after all, a two hour film about a man who cleans toilets. I also believe I watched a Wim Wenders film once and nothing I remember from that is convincing me otherwise. But - here goes nothing...
The film starts with Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) getting up, preparing for and then heading out for a day of work - it takes him eight minutes before he gets there and ten minutes before his colleague shows up and we have our first dialogue. And we then follow him throughout his day as he works, goes home and goes to sleep - and then we get to do it all over again.
He's content with his lot though - and we get to study his lot repeatedly, in great detail. Getting up, driving to and from work, cleaning toilets (Japanese toilets are so complex), eating lunch, looking after his plants, looking at trees, washing - there's really nothing too trivial for us to be shown often and at length.
And for the most part, that's all that happens. Every so often, a pretty slight (and often bizarre) side plot appears but it's generally got out of the way pretty quickly and we get back to cleaning toilets. We also discover that Hirayama is not the chattiest of fellows because he never says anything if he can get away with staying silent - for most of the film, two lines of dialogue is the most he gets to say in a scene. Thankfully, things do change in two places when we get a plot strand involving actual conversations (sometimes TEN lines of dialogue in a scene) - once when his niece comes to stay and when he goes to a restaurant early (which has very unexpected consequences). The change in terms of both plot and dialogue is nicely incongruous (and very welcome).
Music plays a large part in this film (often on cassette, to the amusement of young people) and the tracks are well chosen. At one point, Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" is played and it really fits nicely with the ethos of the film because Hirayama has few needs and finds satisfaction in life's simple pleasures - "you're going to reap just what you sow". It also has an absolutely gorgeous ending with Hirayama driving to work listening to Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" and the camera stays on his face as he conveys a mix of emotions - I didn't really know why, but it felt like a good summation of the film.
Given that Hirayama appears in nearly every scene with remarkably little dialogue then the film is going to live or die by Kōji Yakusho's performance and I'm pleased to report he does an excellent job - he's really watchable and you totally empathise with him. Arisa Nakano also does a great job as Niko, his niece - you think she's going to be a pain but she slides into his life nicely. And then completely disappears never to be seen again - I wanted to learn more about her! I also liked Aoi Yamada as Aya in a minor but charismatic role.
It's all beautifully shot with lots of gorgeous cityscapes and nice use of lighting - it really lets the camera linger, without being excessively slow. We are also shown Hirayama's dreams whilst he's sleeping and these are filmed in a different style - which is effective (even if I didn't have the faintest idea what any of them meant!). I wasn't convinced by the use of a 4:3 aspect ratio - Wikipedia tells me this was a nod to the work of Yasujirō Ozu (which unsurprisingly wasn't something I picked up on). Amusingly, Wikipedia also tells me "following the theatrical release of Perfect Days in international markets, interest in Japanese public facilities, particularly those of the Tokyo Toilet Project in Shibuya, has surged" - if you watch the film, you'll quite understand why!
So yes, this is "contemplative" and "meditative" - but it drew me in nicely and I really felt like I came to understand and appreciate Hirayama's outlook on life. To my surprise, I didn't find the film boring at all - the two larger plot strands with more dialogue really helped here, with my only disappointment being that they left me wanting more. But the quieter, slower, more repetitive scenes also worked remarkably well bringing you a welcome sense of routine and familiarity, with it all being anchored by a great central performance. If you're exclusively into whizz-bang action movies, then this isn't going to be your thing but if you're a fan of "cinema" then I think this is well worth a look - it's available to stream on MUBI or to rent in all the usual places.
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