Perfect Days
Wim Wenders' Perfect Days is a mundane mood piece about Hirayama, a deeply empathetic man finding small moments of pleasure in the repetition of his everyday life, but it works so wonderfully with a central performance from Koji Yakusho, who manages to say so much so loudly throughout the film's runtime even with his limited lines. He just packs so much into every reaction he gives. Arisa Nakano is also very good in her role; pretty much the whole cast is giving what feels like real and sincere performances. The film plays unconventionally for most of its duration. Instead of reeling you in with emotion-packed moments and powerful images, you're given plenty of time to find enjoyment in the daily shuffle of Hirayama’s life with a very authentic feeling to the whole thing. The film's lighting looks natural, and it's all accentuated by a soundtrack that knows just when to kick in and leave before it overstays its welcome. The conversations, sparse throughout the film's first half, only serve to make them shine in the second half. Small moments in the beginning build for big emotions as the film carries on. One of those perfect things where everything is set up so meticulously that you don't even realize the film is setting up all the pieces for an emotional payoff so strong that you spend the last 20 minutes in awe of it. Pretty stellar stuff.