Some people just know how to live. At least, that’s the feeling Wim Winders leaves the viewer with at the end of Perfect Days (2023). A masterclass in in subtle tones and setting, the film may not be best for those who want short shots, quick pacing, and grand special effects, but those who enjoy character-building and therapeutic storytelling will benefit greatly.
In 2020, the Japanese government built a number of spectacular bathrooms around Tokyo for the Summer Olympics. Spectacular’ might seem a strange way to describe a bathroom, yet these bathrooms live up to the hype, gaining international attention for their architecture and style. Wim Winders, the director of Perfect Days, was invited to Tokyo to create a documentary about the toilets. Instead, he made this film.
Perfect Days follows a janitor named Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) as he goes about his daily routines. Of course, he is more than a janitor. He takes this job not because he must but rather because the job provides him a routine he can live with. The film intimates some great pain that haunts Hirayama without ever revealing the details. This ambiguity, rather than cheapening the film, deepens it, because it allows the viewer to see that, no matter what they might have been through in life, they too can achieve peace and happiness through simplicity and routine. There is something deeply therapeutic about the life Hirayama has cultivated. Anyone dealing with great pain, suffering, loss, trauma or grief will find a kindred spirit and guide in Hirayama. He shows us how to live well in an approach that could only be described by zen.
Lovers of Japanese cinema will enjoy this film. So too will lovers of classic American rock! The film pays homage to cassette tapes, a fun bit of nostalgia that runs through the film and position it between Japanese culture and Western culture. Winders has made for us the perfect ‘mix tape’ to accompany Hirayama’s life.
Why should libraries add Perfect Days to their collection?
Perfect Days is perfectly situated between east and west, providing an excellent entry point for anyone wanting to learn more about Japanese culture. While many students enjoy manga or anime, those stories do not reveal what the texture of lived life is like for normal Japanese people. Hollywood viewers will be accustomed to a different pace of storytelling, of course, but Winders includes a wide array of popular Western music that viewers will enjoy. Try pairing with Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003) or Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru (1952)
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