Review: ‘Perfect Days’ — A Celebration of Object and Space

Wim Wenders’ love letter to living presently is a moving celebration of the things and places that truly bind us — but is let down by a simplistic ending

Taking it in — Kōji Yakusho as Hirayama in “Perfect Days”; Image source: FT

I’ll confess that I went into Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days — the Palme d’Or winner that follows the mindful, minimalist daily routine of Tokyo-based toilet cleaner Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) — with a nagging sense of doubt. Wary of the rather simplistic portrayal of happiness depicted in the film’s promotional still — the image of a beatific Hirayama bathed in sunlight — I feared it would force me to endure a rather smug portrayal of sanctimonious contentment.

Yet, equally conscious of Wenders’ resistance to cliche — being of that particular brand of new wave European that appeals to American viewers — I was compelled to watch this film. And this paid off. Perfect Days is no quaint, unified depiction of how to live presently and eschew life’s vices in the process. Hirayama, though contented, is very much human and is very much susceptible to the full gamut of daily emotions we mortals experience.

This, we’re given a glimpse of early in the film. Wenders revealed that his inspiration for the film came from the idea of an alcoholic, suicidal…