Komorebi in “Perfect Days” directed by Wim Wenders: A Movie Review by Ron Wells

Perfect Days

Perfect Days film review by Ron Wells 

In Perfect Days, Director Wim Wenders has made a beautiful, specialized film that will only be appreciated by some audience members. The film follows a man, Hirayama (the brilliant Koji Yakusho) who daily goes to his job which entails driving around Tokyo and cleaning public restrooms and toilets; a job he does extremely well, and seemingly takes great pride in. Check out the trailer below:

Wenders shows Hirayama’s days over and over again, including the small moments such as his routine when he wakes up in the morning. At the same time, we watch Hirayama as he takes pictures of trees while eating his lunch in the park, listens to great rock and roll songs while driving, reads many books, eats at small restaurants where the owners know him, and dreams at night as he sleeps. He seldom speaks and is almost like a solitary, silent movie actor, even while interacting with many different co-workers, friends, relatives and people he doesn’t even really know. 

Perfect Days

Many movie goers will find this boring in the extreme. Others will want to watch closely: Wenders has a made a zen-like film about living in the moment and finding peace in that moment. As Hirayama tells his niece, “Now is now. Next time is next time.”  Even when other people let him down or he has some problems, he finds a way to keep his life in the moment and appreciate that moment, and that day. 

Wenders has subtly shown the meaning of komorebi, which is sunlight filtered through the leaves of trees. 

For sunlight does find a way to break through the shade generated by leaves, and even lights up the leaves themselves. It’s seeking that beauty in the moment that counts. Watch as Hirayama goes through his photos of trees and sunlight, throwing some away, and keeping others. When all is said and done, you will better understand Nina Simone’s version of “Feeling Good,” with its hopeful lyrics shining through the hard blues of the music itself. (Watch a beautiful video version of Simone’s “Feeling Good” here).

I really liked this film. It stayed with me long after it had ended. If you decide not to see it, or you really disliked it, that’s ok, but Yakusho is pitch perfect in this role. Wenders gives many of us something to contemplate, something to consider about this moment in our own lives.

Perfect Days poster

Note from Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator:

Perfect Days by Wim Wenders is nominated for an Oscar in the Best International Film Category. Read more about Ron’s top films in an upcoming post. 

From Ron’s review, you can tell that music is very important to this film, as it always is in a Wim Wenders film; one of my favorite cds is the soundtrack to Wenders The End of Violence. From Wikipedia I learned that Wenders says of his main character: “Maybe he’s clinging to the past. But he’s clinging a little bit also to his youth and he loves that music. He chooses in the morning exactly what he’s going to listen to that day. And it’s not random.” Wenders described Lou Reed as “a mighty voice in the film.”^[13] 

Wim Wenders is my favorite director, and yes his films can be perceived by some as “slow.”

My favorite film by Wim Wenders is Wings of Desire (read my Jungian analysis of the film here).

When I raved about Wings of Desire, my mom tried to watch it and observed it was like watching paint dry. While it may seem like that to some, I love the calm, slow, pace, the observations. I look forward to enjoying this new film by Wim Wenders.

Read more about Perfect Days on wikipedia.