Longtime German filmmaker Wim Wenders has made his admiration for classic Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu quite clear ever since he made his 1985 documentary, "Tokyo-Ga". This 2023 release felt very much influenced by Ozu's unmistakable style - the soulful clarity of the deceptively simple storyline, long dialogue-free scenes, the lives of characters who live in the depths of emotional containment. Wenders' focus here is on Hirayama, a Tokyo public toilet cleaner dedicated to his work and admirably disciplined in how he lives an almost monastic life. There is a spiritual richness that emanates from him even though he's virtually invisible to most people. There are a few people who fall into his orbit - a lazy coworker and the hip girl he wants to date, a terminally ill stranger, Hirayama's niece who has run away from her domineering mother estranged from her brother. There's a rich soundtrack of 1960's-70's American rock classics which play throughout via Hirayama's cassette tapes. Koji Yakusho's performance is a master class in subtlety and generates a palpable sense of emotionalism that would've pleased Ozu.
Review of Perfect Days
