I remember seeing the trailers for Perfect Days, a new movie from German director Wim Wenders that showed a middle-aged Japanese man, for lack of a better description, just going about his day and enjoying life. Sure, there has to be more to it than that, but it just looked, well, beautiful, and it is the time of year for those sorts of movies, so I pretty much knew exactly what I was doing as soon as that one hit the local AMC.
Oh hey, that was this weekend!
Hairyama (Kōji Yakusho) lives alone in a small house. He cleans toilets for a living, and he seems happy enough, rarely talking. Much of the movie shows Hairyama going through his routine of waking up early, trimming his mustache, shaving, tending to the tree saplings he picked up along the way, taking photographs of interesting sights he found, and largely tolerating his younger, less responsible co-worker Takashi (Tokio Emoto). He has moments that he seems to treasure, like getting a wave from a lost child he helped or the general amazement of visiting Americans who discovers how these public toilets work. He doesn’t say much, to the point where Takashi wonders if Hairyama can’t talk.
But then there are the moments when Hairyama doesn’t quite seem to be as happy as he shows most people, and those are the moments that are maybe the point of the movie. He lives a minimalist life, and it appears to be entirely by choice. When his niece Niko (Arisa Nakano) shows up unexpectedly, there may be some revelation on what is going on inside this man. He doesn’t offer great wisdom for the most part. He just lives. Is he happy?
And that, it should be noted, is the point. Is Hairyama truly happy? He has simple pleasures in life. He enjoys his old rock’n’roll tapes, he loves Niko when she stops by unexpectedly, and he’s got if not friends then at least people who are generally glad to see him. He takes pride in his work, doing it to the best of his ability, and he generally shows respect to others, even people like Takashi who arguably don’t deserve as much respect as Hairyama gives him. The man talks so little that I wasn’t even completely sure when he spoke his first words, and his simple smiles that punctuate the movie seem genuine. But then, every so often, his face slips, and the question comes back to ask if the man is as happy as he appears to be.
That is all down to Kōji Yakusho’s performance. Since Hairyama doesn’t talk much, he has to show many of his thoughts and feelings silently. His genuine surprise when Takashi’s love interest Aya (Aoi Yamada) gives him a quick peck on the cheek or when he gets to soak in a public bath show a man who appreciates the small moments, both regular and unexpected. And while a conversation with his sister Keiko (Yumi Asō) may go smoothly from the outside, his reaction after she leaves says something else. The final shot of the movie, showing Hairyama riding through Tokyo in his small car as he heads off for another day of work, is one of those moments where it’s impossible to say whether or not he’s truly happy. And that, more than anything else, is where the real joy of Perfect Days comes from. It’s a masterful performance by the actor, and while there is much for Hairyama to be joyful about, he’s still a man who can maybe feel lonely and sad on the way to work. I’m just really glad I saw this one.
Grade: A
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