Perfect Days (2023)★ 8.0/10

This is what life is all about.

It's as if Thorfinn were a movie

This film doesn't have an amazing plot; it just showcases the everyday lives of ordinary people. Even a janitor cleaning toilets can listen to jazz, read books, and have their own spiritual refuge and preferred pacing to live their lives. At first glance, it seems bland, but it’s an engaging kind of blandness, almost enviable.

I thoroughly enjoyed it; it felt like a soothing massage for the soul. Wim Wenders captures Tokyo in a serene and refreshing light. The entire film feels like a Tokyo story shot on Fujifilm. The depictions of life in bathhouses and fast-food joints under the subway reminded me of Yoshii Shinobu's "Tokyo 8m2: Tokyo's Downsized Dwelling." Even in cramped spaces, people find their own personal space. Many criticize this film for being fictional and unrealistic, but why must cinema always strive for realism?

At the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, a scene featuring two elderly men stepping on each other's shadows by the riverside at night emerged as the most beautiful depiction of masculinity on screen that I've seen in recent years. Wim Wenders, true to his style, excels at capturing those minor, often overlooked details in interpersonal relationships that are profoundly moving. Although the film somewhat resembles a promotional video, it remains a thoroughly comforting cinematic experience.

The film takes one hour to construct a sense of stability and beauty, and another hour to subtly interfere with it, creating only minor ripples. It suggests that stability, beauty, and enjoyment remain intact, only revealing a hint of underlying sorrow towards the end, while still refusing to offer a clear, explicit explanation. The dream is too beautiful, filled with a Zen-like quality, yet ultimately remains enigmatic.

What really got to me wasn't the "observations on life" or the "humanistic spirit" in this movie, but maybe it's the thing that only a non-Japanese director could capture. It's similar to why I liked "Lost in Translation"—the characters are removed from their surroundings, and the camera just stays fixed on them, simply 'gazing' at them. The Tokyo he captured in this film feels a lot like the Tokyo I see, where everything is fresh to me. The Japanese version of "House of the Rising Sun" really struck a chord with me, and it's no surprise that this song is used at the end of the movie.

This movie delves into self-discipline, with a real Zen-like vibe. It shows how someone who truly masters and enjoys life not only finds peace for themselves but also brings a breath of fresh air to others. It feels like I've been given a delightful sermon. The message that life is shaped by ourselves, with subtle changes adding beauty and romance to our largely unchanging lives, is a fitting theme for films with the Japanese people as subjects. Though the storyline of Tomokazu Miura feels a bit abrupt and the ending seems a bit off-kilter, the film still works as a whole. And let's not forget, Yakusho Koji is just incredible! He's truly the best actor!

The film snagged the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and Yakusho Koji certainly deserves it. His acting is beyond magnificent, seamlessly weaving emotions into everyday life. The audience breathes with him and feels his emotions even without over-the-top drama or exaggerated performances.

It's peaceful, comfortable, and lovely. Yes, it really is a perfect day. But you know, this feels more like the ordinary, simple beauty that Wim Wenders imagines, or maybe even the idealized Japanese life he envisions. And of course, Koji Yakusho's smile is truly soothing.

A perfect day isn't about high status or good health, but about enjoying the nearly luxurious comfort zone. When that comfort is disrupted, it's hard to call it perfect, but the shattered comfort might bring you a delightful surprise. Wim Wenders' observation of beauty is astonishing — even the toilets in Tokyo sparkle. And Koji Yakusho’s quiet performance is quite impressive.

Best Wim Wenders after his "Pina", for me. Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' is lived in plural by Kôji Yakusho under the camera of Wenders. Perhaps there will be some uncertainties and small accidents that cannot change the trajectory of life, but the days always remain a straight road forward, capturing poetry magnified tens of times in the midst of ordinary work.