PERFECT DAYS

Set in Tokyo, Perfect Days follows Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho in a Cannes Best Actor Award-winning role), a meticulous man of routine who seems to find joy in his job as a toilet cleaner. He speaks very little but has a great passion for music, books and the trees he loves to photograph. He drives to work in his minivan, fully equipped with his cleaning gear, while The Rolling Stones, Patti Smith or Lou Reed ring in ageless, husky hums from a tape player. As if in search of a new cinema on the road, Wenders follows his protagonist and instead discovers new places of the heart. Through Yakusho/Hirayama, Wenders captures the poetry of the everyday with intimacy and stunning simplicity.

Filled with surprising delight, and with a soaring lead performance by Yakusho, Perfect Days is a gentle, inspirational ode to simple but profound pleasures. An absorbing slice-of-life drama led by a remarkable Kôji Yakusho performance, Perfect Days adds a quietly soaring gem to director/co-writer Wim Wenders’ estimable filmography.

“Unmistakably the work of a mature filmmaker thinking long and hard about the things that make life meaningful … Ineffably lovely.” The Hollywood Reporter