"Perfect Days" (2023): A Quiet Masterpiece About Routine, Solitude, and the Beauty of the Everyday
Perfect Days (2023), directed by legendary German filmmaker Wim Wenders, is a meditative and deeply humanistic film that finds profound beauty in the quiet moments of everyday life. Set in Tokyo and centered on a solitary toilet cleaner named Hirayama, played by acclaimed Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, the film is a gentle, contemplative portrait of a man who finds joy, peace, and meaning in routine, simplicity, and solitude.
Hirayama leads a modest life. Every morning, he wakes up in his small, sparsely decorated apartment, tends to his plants, gets dressed, and drives through the city to clean public toilets—an often-overlooked job he does with care, pride, and attention to detail. He eats lunch alone in the park, listens to cassette tapes filled with classic rock and folk music, takes analog photographs of trees and shadows, reads paperbacks, and returns home to repeat the process again the next day. His days are unremarkable to the outside world, yet Perfect Days reveals the quiet richness and dignity within them.
What makes the film so compelling is how Wenders, with extraordinary restraint, allows us to slowly immerse ourselves in Hirayama’s world. Nothing grand or dramatic happens for much of the film—but it doesn’t need to. Through repetition, subtle variations, and the unspoken depth of Yakusho’s performance, the viewer begins to sense the inner life of a man who has chosen this rhythm deliberately. Hirayama’s past is never fully explained, though moments—such as a surprise visit from his estranged niece or an encounter with someone from his former life—hint at a story of personal loss or retreat from a more complicated existence.
Koji Yakusho’s performance is the soul of the film. With minimal dialogue, he expresses entire worlds through his expressions, body language, and stillness. He earned the Best Actor award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for this role, and rightfully so—his portrayal of Hirayama is one of quiet emotional power and authenticity. It's a study in presence: simply being, fully and attentively, in the moment.
The film is also a love letter to Tokyo, not in its busy urban chaos, but in its serene corners and fleeting details. The city becomes a character in itself—its parks, restrooms, alleys, and rhythms captured in soft, observational cinematography by Franz Lustig. The soundtrack—featuring Lou Reed, Patti Smith, The Rolling Stones, and Nina Simone—evokes nostalgia and connects the audience to Hirayama’s inner emotions without spelling anything out.
At its heart, Perfect Days is about mindfulness, minimalism, and finding contentment in repetition. It's a quietly radical film in an age dominated by noise and spectacle. It asks: What if a life that seems ordinary from the outside is, in fact, extraordinary in its simplicity?
In conclusion, Perfect Days is a beautiful, poetic meditation on the small rituals that make life meaningful. It's a gentle reminder that sometimes, perfection lies not in change or achievement—but in stillness, care, and being fully present.
