Perfect Days

Perfect Days is a pleasant film about the joy we get from life despite all of the obstacles that it places in our path. The main character is an eternally positive man for whom cleaning toilets in Tokyo is not a degrading job, because he understands its importance in society. And he views society and the people in it with love and respect. Wim Wenders knows how to interestingly tell us about such a protagonist’s everyday life and by gradually revealing the past through the characters that appear in the plot and the properly chosen familiar songs, he is able to define the protagonist’s inner state of mind. There is always a bit of sadness behind every cheerful façade. Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho turns in a great performance, as he succeeds in expressing more without words than he would with them. [Cannes FF] (27.05.2023)

This poetic glimpse into the daily life of a Tokyo toilet cleaner flows like a documentary at first, but as the runtime progresses, plot lines enter the picture. The complicated family relationships are definitely more interesting in this case than the hysterical bachelor of Japan's Generation Z. As the storyline grew, I felt like Wenders was promising even greater things, only they never come. Everything extraordinary gradually fizzles out into the ether and all that's left is another routine day. Immediately after the credits, I had a slight problem with this, but after more than a week, I'm more forgiving. Not every drama needs to have an immediate denouement when it comes to everyday life. And that's what Perfect Days presents in textbook fashion. (02.11.2023)