Hirayama (an excellent Koji Yahusho) lives an ordinary solitary life. He gets up before dawn, grabs his morning beverage from a vending machine and dutifully goes to work. He has dinner at a plain little restaurant and then retires to his small flat where he reads old books, listens to music on cassette tapes and takes photographs on an old fashioned film camera. An analog man living in a 21st century digital world. Occasionally, he visits an old school dive bar. Cinematographer Franz Lustig even frames things in the traditional 1:33 aspect ratio.
Director Wim Wenders's screenplay (with Takuma Takasaki) doles out Hirayama's details deliberately. The only real background we learn are when a wayward niece unexpectedly comes to stay with him for a few days. Typically, Hirayama doesn't make a big deal out it and takes it all in stride. His job is hardly glamorous as he cleans toilets for Tokyo's rather elaborate public bathrooms. He's diligent and exemplifies the dignity of work.
PERFECT DAYS is about the small moments and interactions of life. Yahusho's (SHALL WE DANCE?, BABEL) performance exemplifies Zen. He's quiet, but speaks loudly in his discipline (as does Wenders' filmmaking). Other than music (some choice cuts by Patti Smith, Van Morrison and, Lou Reed) and reading, Hirayama's only other hobby is photography. He loves to focus on trees (at one point, a character calls them Hirayama's "friend"). The one true directing flourish Wenders adds are in depicting Hirayama's dreams. In keeping with the film's themes, his night visions are simple and kaleidoscopic (they were done by Wenders' wife Donata).
In the end, this is a tale of a man who experiences his life, his way. He simply wants to stop and smell the roses (or trees, as it were). If one gets on the movie's wavelength, you might even agree that they are truly Perfect Days.
Director Wim Wenders's screenplay (with Takuma Takasaki) doles out Hirayama's details deliberately. The only real background we learn are when a wayward niece unexpectedly comes to stay with him for a few days. Typically, Hirayama doesn't make a big deal out it and takes it all in stride. His job is hardly glamorous as he cleans toilets for Tokyo's rather elaborate public bathrooms. He's diligent and exemplifies the dignity of work.
PERFECT DAYS is about the small moments and interactions of life. Yahusho's (SHALL WE DANCE?, BABEL) performance exemplifies Zen. He's quiet, but speaks loudly in his discipline (as does Wenders' filmmaking). Other than music (some choice cuts by Patti Smith, Van Morrison and, Lou Reed) and reading, Hirayama's only other hobby is photography. He loves to focus on trees (at one point, a character calls them Hirayama's "friend"). The one true directing flourish Wenders adds are in depicting Hirayama's dreams. In keeping with the film's themes, his night visions are simple and kaleidoscopic (they were done by Wenders' wife Donata).
In the end, this is a tale of a man who experiences his life, his way. He simply wants to stop and smell the roses (or trees, as it were). If one gets on the movie's wavelength, you might even agree that they are truly Perfect Days.
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