Perfect Days
Have you ever been going about your daily routine, and notice the same strangers each time? Have you ever wondered what their routine might be? Where they've been and where they're going? What kind of life they've lead?
Perfect Days takes that feeling and allows you to peek behind that curtain. You get to see what their days are like, what they enjoy, their quirks, their hobbies, what the world looks like through their eyes.
It shows you that there is beauty in the mundane, the banal.
This experience is created by the lack of dialogue and remarkable yet subtle performance by Koji Yakusho. His character Hirayama says very little throughout the film, especially during the first third. So instead hearing him express joy, frustration, pride, and respect you instead have to watch as closely as you can, almost leaning into his world just to get a glimpse of what is going on beneath the surface.
This is where the repetition of Hirayama's routine works masterfully, each time something interrupts the pattern you're given a chance to peek behind the curtain and see something new, not just with the new circumstances and characters but also with how Hiriyama will react, or sometimes not react.
Also though, when there are no interruptions at all and instead you get to see which song he will choose to play, or how he will photograph his special tree, or which book he will decide to buy. Every little thing adds up and it makes you feel like a spectator, peering into a time capsule of one single person's life.
I haven't even touched upon the cinematography, the music, the writing, or the colour palette, which is all incredible.
Perfect Days certainly won't be a film for everyone, but those who enjoy it will really find something special.
2024 Ranked