What you need to know:
“Perfect Days,” the latest film from German director Wim Wenders, has finally been released in Mexico.
In one of the good news of the premieres of this year 2024, that is Perfect days (Perfect days) by Wim Wendershis latest feature, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film representing Japan, was released in theaters in Mexico ahead of its premiere on MUBI.
As you can see, it is One of the films we have been most looking forward to seeing since its participation in Cannes in 2023. And its premiere not only prepares us for the most important ceremony of the awards season, but also introduces us to a wonderful and beautiful film from one of the most talented directors.
What is Perfect Days about?
In Perfect days Nothing happens. If we had to say what the movie is about, we would boil the story down to “a man who cleans toilets in Tokyo.” But the mastery of Wim Wenders and his collaborators in aspects such as photography, but especially in the script, makes it possible One of the most beautiful pieces of film in recent years.
Perfect days has as protagonist Hirayama, a guy who cleans public toilets all over Tokyo. Every day he gets up, brushes his teeth, waters his plants, puts on his uniform, walks down the street, looks at the sky, buys a coffee machine, gets into his van, plays a cassette from his collection and He goes into the first toilets that he has to clean.
After going through a few toilets, he goes to a park to eat. He takes out a pocket camera and takes a photo of the trees. Continue with your cleaning tasks until you go home. Here he takes his bike, goes to a few toilets to take a shower and finally he goes to eat. He returns home, goes to bed and reads a book before going to sleep. This is Hirayama’s already established routine.
The genius of Perfect Days and Wim Wenders
And this is Perfect days: a man with an established routine that we see throughout the film. Does it sound boring? What if it’s boring? No way.
There is no dialogue in the first 10 minutes of the film. We’re just checking on Hirayama’s impeccable routine. And when we say “flawless,” it is not because it is carried out with a certain artificiality in its movements or in the time in which it should be, but because we recognize it He has been interpreting it for years with a care that comes from peace and solitude.
Wim Wenders tells us this through Hirayama It is the routines that build us, but it is the miracles that change us. And for Hirayama Every day is a miracle because… life is.
So we understand that in reality There are no everyday miracles in his story, but he decided to establish a routine within the miracle. And that’s why he respects her and cares about her because It must be so simple that it allows you to notice everything extraordinary that is happening around you.
However. Generally, We might understand miracles as those unexpected breaks within the events and rhythm that we have already established and that we have thoroughly mastered. But in Perfect days Miracle (a word that is never mentioned in the film, by the way) They are things we take for granted, but they exist amidst the chaos and indifference of everyday life. The majority must give in to this.
And here lies the beauty of a film like this Perfect days. There is no need for a dramatic event or an extraordinary breakup this reveals to us the most intimate aspects of the character. With Wenders and Hirayama We don’t get any answers because we’re not even allowed to ask questions. We do not need any. And nothing happens.
A film that touches the audience
There are many books and music in Hirayama’s life. There are also tears. There is a past that seems painful. Around him are people who are desperate, mysterious, passionate and sensitive. And everything, Like Hirayama, but in a different way, they try to connect with each other.
Among everything that happens around him, There is a lot of patience in Hirayama’s life. Patience for those who frantically enter the bathroom they just cleaned and hope to do it again. Patience for the topic you are supervising and which you do not want to work on. Patience for your niece and her need to escape the family dynamic. Patience for those who confess to a stranger.
And this patience is transferred to the audience until the point is reached We notice the same things that make Hirayama smile. These things are so simple that they go unnoticed.
The other part that seems extraordinary to us is this Wim Wenders never gives a moral, dramatic or romantic speech. And how does he achieve it? This all leads us to Hirayama himself, who enjoys contact with other people despite his lonely life. He is a character who doesn’t speak much but never refuses the word.
So to answer the question posed at the head of this note… Yes, Perfect days He deserves all the love he has received. because that is what the film offers us viewers.