Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Koji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano
Intro:
In its simplicity and grace, this is a film that is much more effective than it appears to be on paper. You could have a walk in the park, then lunch, then a movie – but make it this one.
The lead character in this slightly eccentric but charming film has had a perfect day cleaning public toilets. Mind you, these are not just any toilets; this is set in Tokyo, so the toilets are hi-tech and spotless to begin with.
Hirayama (acclaimed actor Koji Yakusho who won an acting award at Cannes for this performance) leads an ordered life not uninfluenced by Zen notions of order and balance. He lives in ‘the now’ as we are enjoined to do. He gets up every morning at the same time, folds his futon, gets ready in a measured way, leaps into his little van and drives to his first park. His van has an old-fashioned cassette player (remember those?) and he slides in some classics, usually English and American artists like Lou Reed.
Hirayama has a young sidekick, who he is training in the gentle art of cleaning loos. The sidekick has an annoying habit of being late, but Hira is wise and forgiving. Later, his own family matters start to ruffle the surface when his niece comes to stay. Hira again shows his ability to understand the young and he is clearly happy to be around them. There have been some moments of sadness in his life, but he has found a way to keep that in balance with his gratitude for what he has got.
The film is made by revered German director Wim Wenders, who likes to take his own sweet time when laying out a story; think Wings of Desire, which was such a cult back in the ‘80s. He also made Paris, Texas, which was another film which worked as a mood piece, though it had more emotional flares and intensity than this meditative effort.
Those films also relied on the soundtrack and this one is no different. The songs coming out of the cassette player are like a diegetic music score, but they also permeate the film generally in a way that is subtle and uplifting. Great popular songs – such as Lou Reed’s all time classic ‘Perfect Day’ – seep into our collective unconscious in such a way that everyone can respond to their mood and weave their memories around them anew.
Perfect Days was apparently made at great speed, which is in contrast to its drifty aesthetic. Hira is just such a lovely man, and it wouldn’t matter if we were in his company for two minutes or the two hour running time, the effect would be the same. In its simplicity and grace, this is a film that is much more effective than it appears to be on paper. You could have a walk in the park, then lunch, then a movie – but make it this one.
