Perfect Days (2023) - Movie Review

Movie : Perfect Days
Director : Wim Wenders
Year : 2023
Language : Japanese
Streaming Platform : Mubi
Duration : 2h 5m

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Hirayama, a humble middle-aged toilet cleaner, lives an elementary life in Tokyo, Japan. He follows the same routine every single day, every week, and has hobbies like listening to several genres of music, collecting cassette tapes of that music, taking pictures on his little camera, growing plants, and reading books, and is very content with this routine and life.

The movie revolves around how Hirayama finds happiness and makes sure that he lives and experiences every minute of his time in this world.

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In my opinion, if a movie makes the viewer feel emotions, and stays with them for a few days even after they've watched the movie, then it is usually successful in creating an impact.

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And Perfect Days does exactly that. The movie doesn't even have many dialogues, but it brilliantly conveys what the makers are trying to say through the magnificent cinematography by Franz Lustig, the brilliant Direction by Wim Wenders, and the performance of a lifetime by Kōji Yakusho.

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‎‎Let's talk about the Acting first.

The 68-year-old lead Kōji Yakusho, has performed his heart out in this movie. With barely any dialogue to say, the way he has shown what his character Hirayama is feeling is truly commendable and a masterclass in acting, without speaking much.

Throughout the movie, Hirayama goes through several heartwarming moments and turns in his life, and the way he responds to those is portrayed in a very convincing manner by Kōji Yakusho.

Other than him, all other cast members have done a phenomenal job as well, taking the story forward and keeping the movie engaging throughout the mundane thing, one might think, is 'routine'.

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The Cinematography of the movie, on the other hand, is a treat to every viewer's eyes. The city of Tokyo has been shown in its full glory and makes one appreciate, and possibly, dream to live the life the people of Tokyo live.

Every scene in the movie is truly mesmerizing, and to say in the Genz language, wallpaper material.

Also, the makers' choice to keep the Aspect Ratio of the movie 4:3, is great attention to detail. The fact that the movie is centered on the story of a person who lives an old-school life in the modern era, fits really well in the 4:3 TV format Aspect Ratio.

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The movie also has a wonderful choice of music and songs that fit perfectly with the situations that the characters are going through.

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To conclude, I often think that creating a movie that is based on the current times is a really hard thing to do considering how distracted life nowadays has become, but this movie shows how interesting it is, for the ones who stay away from all of those distractions.

Perfect Days, as the title suggests, is the Perfect Movie if one wants to see what a life with detox from all the social noise feels like, one with simplicity, peace, routine, and awareness of how beautiful the gift of life, with all of its goods and bads, is, then this movie is the exactly what one should watch.

It makes you yearn for a more simple life, away from all the distractions of screens, one with solace and peace.

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Also, if you are reading the review this far, I'd like to Thank You for the same and would like to give you 🔗 this little playlist I found of all the tracks that were played throughout the movie. Don't open it yet, please see the movie first and then come back and 🔗 save this playlist, I know you'll love it.

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That brings us to the end of this review. Thanks again, and I hope you have a wonderful day! See you next time! ♥