Perfect Days

I recently watched the Japanese film Perfect Days directed by Wim Wenders and starring Koji Yakusho. The story centers around Hirayama (Yakusho) who enjoys a peaceful life in Tokyo as a public toilet cleaner and through the beautiful direction from Wenders, we are able to see how wonderful the world is through his eyes. This film caught my attention when it received a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards and recently started streaming on Hulu.

I loved this movie. The acting performance by Yakusho was brilliant and Wenders did a superb job of both telling us a story and giving us something to think about. A key takeaway for me from this movie is how important it is to stop and appreciate the things you have, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. You could really see this theme played out through the way Hirayama acts and lives his life which is contrast to his co-worker, Takashi, who lives a much louder and hectic lifestyle but does not seem able to just appreciate what he has. Even the way this film was shot has a simplistic way about it which honestly made it impossible to take my eyes off the screen. There is a quote from the movie that really stuck with me and really drives home what Wim Wenders was trying to say in this story and it is: "Next time is next time, now is now."

This is one of those rare films that makes the viewer look inward and find inspiration on how to live a better life. Perfect Days is a cinematic masterpiece, and I highly recommend checking it out.