Perfect Days (2023)
7.924 /10
562 Reviews
Rate This Movie:
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Videos & Photos
cast
... Hirayama
... Takashi
... Niko
... Aya
... Keiko
User reviews
Coproduction between Japan and Germany, directed by the german director Wim Wenders (Texas Paris, Wings of Desire among others) and written by him and Takuma Takashi.
It won the Cannes Film Festival 2023 for Best Actor and Ecumenical Jury
and it is nominated for Academy Best Foreign Movie (my favorite for this category).
It tells some days at the life of a public bathroom cleaner at Tokyo, interpreted by Koji Yakusho Hirayama, as Hirayama, his daily routine and 4 events in between his usual days. It also shows how some people treat those invisible workers even in a modern civilized country as Japan.
Hirayama have a simple, but happy life as he is and what his does with the maximum commitment - it is a marvelou movie about contemplation and what simple things and events can bring of happiness in the life, if you allow it.
The cinematography is by Franz Lustig (Anselm), and it is beautiful in using the available light and daily variations, mostly in shots with the protagonist.
With a slow minimalistic story focused on this philosophy and camera work also directed to the architecture of public bathrooms, it may not be a movie for everyone.
My score for it is 9,6 out of 10,0 / A+.
Director:
Genres:
Release Date:
2023-11-10
Run Time:
124 min
MMPA Rating:
PG
Reviews of
Perfect Days
Coproduction between Japan and Germany, directed by the german director Wim Wenders (Texas Paris, Wings of Desire among others) and written by him and Takuma Takashi.
It won the Cannes Film Festival 2023 for Best Actor and Ecumenical Jury
and it is nominated for Academy Best Foreign Movie (my favorite for this category).
It tells some days at the life of a public bathroom cleaner at Tokyo, interpreted by Koji Yakusho Hirayama, as Hirayama, his daily routine and 4 events in between his usual days. It also shows how some people treat those invisible workers even in a modern civilized country as Japan.
Hirayama have a simple, but happy life as he is and what his does with the maximum commitment - it is a marvelou movie about contemplation and what simple things and events can bring of happiness in the life, if you allow it.
The cinematography is by Franz Lustig (Anselm), and it is beautiful in using the available light and daily variations, mostly in shots with the protagonist.
With a slow minimalistic story focused on this philosophy and camera work also directed to the architecture of public bathrooms, it may not be a movie for everyone.
My score for it is 9,6 out of 10,0 / A+.
Now I don't now about where you live, but in my town you are lucky to find a public toilet at all, let alone one with designer fittings and miracle blinds! Luckily, Tokyo has a dedicated and meticulous cleaner in "Hirayama" (Koji Yakusho) whose routine gets him from bed, via the coffee machine, to his rounds, the bath house, then his book and again to bed. Helped, occasionally but not too reliably, by the younger "Takashi" (Tokio Emoto) his joy when travelling from site to site is to listen to old cassettes from the likes of the Doors and Van Morrison. He is an outwardly rather humourless man, and he likes his daily pattern, so imagine his surprise when he returns home one evening to discover his niece. "Niko" (Arisa Nakano) has absconded from home and decided to come stay with him for a few days. With his pal at work having a new girlfriend to impress and now him a teenage niece to accommodate, his life faces a turmoil and we have to watch (and hope) as he tries to get through it. Who knows? Maybe it will help bring him out of his self-imposed shell? Might we find out what caused that introspection in the first place? There's quite a lot of repetition here, but as each day goes by Wim Wenders introduces us to a little more. More about the city, more about the characters and maybe just a little too much about multi-purpose bleach. Yakusho is perfect for his part and he engagingly delivers a characterful performance as a man who prefers not to speak and the whole drama evolves, gently, to not so much a conclusion as another day that may or may not be different from the previous ones.
Cast & Crew of
Perfect Days
Cast
... Hirayama
... Takashi
... Niko
... Aya
... Keiko
... Mama
... Tomoyama
... Homeless
... Old Lady with Brush
... Businessman
... Kid
... Kid
... Lost Boy
... Mother
... Baby
... Priest
... Tourist
... Bath House Owner
... Old Man
... Kat-Chan
... Regular
... Bar Owner
... Old Woman
... Vynil Store Staff
... Customer
... Customer
... Customer
... Cat Lady
... Office Lady
... Old Local
... Old Local
... Dera-Chan
... DPE Owner
... Bookstore Owner
... Bar Regular
... Bar Regular
... High School Girl
... Keiko's Driver
... Girl on Phone (voice)
... Taxi Driver
... Parking Officer
... Sato
Crew
... Director
... Producer
... Writer
... Supervising Sound Editor
... Sound Re-Recording Mixer
... Executive Producer
... Foley Artist
... Director of Photography
... Dialogue Editor
... Sound Designer
... Foley Editor
... Costume Design
... Sound Effects Editor
... Visual Effects Supervisor
... VFX Supervisor
... Foley Mixer
... Production Design
... Producer
... Writer
... Editor
... Editor
... Casting Director
... Foley Mixer
... First Assistant Director
... Post Production Supervisor
... Second Assistant Director
... First Assistant Director
... Casting
... Co-Producer
... Co-Producer
... Producer
... Executive Producer
... Makeup & Hair
... Co-Producer
... Co-Producer
... Line Producer
... Gaffer
... Location Manager
![Official International Trailer [Subtitled]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Iv8YO5BXCAQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Official US Trailer [Subtitled]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QzZBbX5A1FA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Trailer [Subtitled]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HTgWYojq-z8/mqdefault.jpg)
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