Movies to Watch: Perfect Days

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It is a 2023 Japanese drama film nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, directed by Wim Wenders and written by Takuma Taka.

Hirayama works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo and continues his job by repeating his daily routines. He devotes his free time to the music he listens to, the books he reads before going to sleep, and the plants he plants.

---Spoiler ---

In the first half of the movie; He sees someone who lives a simple life and takes pride in doing things well, but who grumbles a lot to distance himself from the rest of the world, without taking much time off from the environment except for one-word answers.

However, in the second half of the film, their perfect routine throughout their perfect life is gradually disrupted: using the cleaned toilet, playing xox programs that he has never met, talking about music with his colleague's date, and most importantly, our unknown past comes back with the appearance of his nephew.

This movie immediately shows how beautiful it is that it even exists. but he simply says that it is not enough to eliminate all the events of existing life. In these parts, it depart from the hakuna matata formula that I know from the Lion King movie. Running away from problems or delusional that everything will be fine doesn't get you anywhere. The eternal happiness of the consciousness of being and the meaning of peace have no meaning. The movie just wants us to think that you are in the present and you stop there. We must include all that brings us to the present moment of life and overcome the obstacles they present.

It is a decision of our own existence to have a purpose within it or to take the risk of being surrounded by the regrets of the past on the one hand and the concerns of the future on the other. We see Hirayama eating his lunch alone in the same park every day. Meanwhile, the head bends are looking at the same tree, looking at the sunlight filtering through the extensive parts. He takes his old model camera out of his pocket and takes photos. Although at first glance it may seem like a pointless action to do every day, this is a very important routine for Hirayama, where you can enjoy the moment.

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Another feature of the film is that instead of manipulating the audience, it is as if we are watching a documentary about the daily experiences of someone named Hirayama. No information is currently given about Hirayama's past. As I understood later, he had a rich family, but he didn't know anything about why he stayed away as a fugitive and why he started a new life for himself. It doesn't matter anyway, because the uncertainty of his past allows us to focus on who he is now and his communication with the people and the world around him.

Even the music in the movie is an example of this issue. All music consists of what Hirayama is currently listening to.

At the end of the movie, a Japanese word called komorebi is shown. What does this komorebi mean? The dappled light of the sun filtered through the trees and plants meaning "it's coming". His naivety hit me hard. The idea of komorebi also proves to be a powerful metaphor for the central theme of perfect days; we just have to give ourselves over to the beauty of what exists now.

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I was also very happy that Hirayama was never portrayed as a lonely/desperate man. He was alone for almost the entire movie, but I never got the feeling that he was alone. Thinking there is a big problem with being alone. Of course, this may upset her occasionally, but you seem content to find beauty and joy in the little moments of daily care. I find it important to be content with ourselves and not to have expectations from others for our happiness. I find people who cannot spend time alone helpless. After all, at the end of the day, our processes are all we have to look at ourselves.

Let's come to our brother Hirayama: If I had to make sense of the life I live and the wealth of his family, I came to the conclusion that he is someone who has mastered modest desires that do not appear in big things and luxury. They can enjoy watching the activities of the same tree, picking the same coffee, listening to the same music, and cleaning the toilets. We have a lot in common except toilet cleaning.

Director Wim Wenders also succeeded in showing his daily routine in our episode, it gives real feelings.

One of the reasons for this reality is that the other screenwriter, Takuma Takasaki, takes a documentary-like approach when creating the character of Hirayama and does extensive research on what kind of music a person like him would listen to. The music used on a perfect day is one of my favorites.

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To summarize, Wim Wenders in the movie Perfect Days; It beautifully reflects the peace that comes from looking gratefully at each new day and nature, enjoying the little things and living in the moment.

--- spoilers ---

Every day is actually a "perfect day". Every day ends somehow and nothing should worry you because tomorrow is another day, a new day. The day that happened yesterday is gone and will never happen again.

Score: 10/10

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