Time: 124 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Nudity
Cast:
Kōji Yakusho as Hirayama
Tokio Emoto as Takashi
Arisa Nakano as Niko
Aoi Yamada as Aya
Yumi Asō as Keiko
Sayuri Ishikawa as Mama
Tomokazu Miura as Tomoyama
Min Tanaka as Homeless
Director: Wim Wenders

I had been hearing about Perfect Days, many people had been calling it one of the best of the year. It also was Japan’s pick for best international film, and it ended up being nominated at the Oscars. I think that the acclaim was well deserved.

Perfect Days it really focussed on a toilet cleaner’s everyday life and routine, and the structure doesn’t stray too far from that. It is essentially a slice of life drama and while those can usually be hit or miss for me, this movie worked for me. It is definitely slow, but it drew me in as we end up being invested in our protagonist’s simple life and peaceful routine, seeing how he reacts to things, and how he enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

Koji Takusho is in the lead role of Hirayama, and he is amazing. His performance is very subtle and doesn’t have much dialogue, but conveys so much emotion so excellently. Everyone else is great too, but Takusho is really the star.

This is incredibly directed by Wim Wenders. It has such a peaceful vibe throughout, especially with the great and beautiful cinematography. It also has some really good song choices.

Perfect Days is a somber, tender, and beautiful character study, with a spectacular lead performance from Koji Yakusho.