the veteran German-born director Wim Wenders has drawn nearly equal inspiration from Japan, as much as he has from the United States. The two documentaries he made in the 80s, “Tokyo-ga” and “Notebook on Cities and Clothes” are both set in Japan along with a part of his 1991 movie, “Until the End of the World”, which is an epic elegy of life on earth. For certain aspects of Eastern philosophy, Japan is depicted as a region where one seeks calmness or even experiences it and for Wenders, the realm of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu has often served as a model. In his recent movie “Perfect Days”, Wenders portrays the calm, but culturally rich lifestyle of an elderly Japanese man working in sanitation. Renowned Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, who featured in “Shall We Dance?”, plays Hirayama, a Shibuya-based toilet cleaner working in the upscale public bathrooms. A man of moderate build with salt and pepper hair and a meek outward manner, he is actually an incredibly charming man who forces the impression of being contained. Each day, he wakes up in his scummy apartment and drives into town in his van while listening to the wonderfully curated cassette playlist he has prepared.
Some of the tunes in the cassette collection include Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks, SARsongs House of the Rising Sun by the Animals, and Pale Blue Eyes by The Velvet Underground.
The Kinks aAre a part of Wenders’ filmography. In his American classic entitled “The American Friend,” the singer of the group ‘Kinks’ “Too Much on My Mind” while doing chores at the atelier, the framer played by Bruno Ganz seems to have an “off” day. Velvet Underground president Lou Read (you can imagine what song of his it is on the soundtrack) was also in Wender’s “Faraway So Close!” along with Gorbachev. While driving, Hirayama seems to indulge in the sweet pleasures of life as he watches the sunrise while enjoying music.
In reality, this is a solitary independent life, but it has components that suggest it is a deep sense of male fantasy. This is a fantasy of “active” solitude in which, after a certain age, one simply wishes to be left alone by the world.
Hirayama only listens to music on cassette. For a more demonstrative character, this would lean too close to type and border on unbearable hipsterism, but with Hirayama, it’s more of an “everything in its right place” vibe.
Not much occurs in his world, but it is beautiful. Along with dark bars and restaurants, there are parks housing designer toilets, and there is also a quiet female owner of a bar restaurant with whom Hirayama shares a bit of a bond. During the night, our protagonist reads, and when he sleeps, he dreams in black and white alongside imaginative sequences with Wenders’ wife Donata, a photographer.
Some say Wender’s overly clean take on a man’s life, who, let’s remind ourselves, makes a living cleaning toilets, is a touch steering. He does give too clean a version of sanitation. There’s no denying that these installations serve nearly as art objects, but still
Politically incorrect and a tad vinegar-ish, but due to “Kings of the Road,” I don’t expect anything of Wenders in the shit department.
The lead character in this film from late 1970s takes a leak on the beach. The way the scene is shot, it is presented in a long shot, and he does not pay much attention to it. One commentator on Roger’s review still said, “sick.” I guess you cant please everyone.
Apart from the acceptance of the acceptance showing attitude, there are few who do appreciate Hirayama and the movie. Personally, I viewed that as“acceptance is the key.” Many observers fail to differentiate acceptance from stagnation, and I understand that. Still, I was persistently touched by the image and the calm that his protagonist seeks and often attains.
The film has numerous enigmas revolving around some aspects of life that are not so tranquil. The coping and patience that Hirayama extends to his fellow bungler Takashi (Tokio Emoto) is nearly to the point of self-denial. The film hints at mild familial discord when Hirayama’s teenage niece appears at his doorstep. Niko, the niece, ¿showed some interest in her uncle’s life and read one of his books, the short stories of Patricia Highsmith. Later, Niko tells Hirayama that she particularly liked “The Terrapin.” The movie does not reveal it, but this is the story of a boy whose mother boils a tortoise that was brought home with the intention of being eaten. The child retaliates by stabbing his mother to death. When his sister comes to pick up her daughter, the siblings’ exchange of words reveals another way of life from the one that Hirayama is currently used to.
Is Hirayama making a living amends? If so, why? Captain Renault is romantic in saying “I like to think you killed a man,” about Rick from “Casablanca.” It makes me question what the protagonist from Hirayama’s film based on Highsmith, “The American Friend” is running from, while also having pondered the anti-romantic murder in that film.
Him running away is very similar to what Peter Bogdanovich said of Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” “It has the wisdom and perceptions of an artist knowingly reaching towards the end of his lifetime and career.” The wisdom and poetry here is just as real, and just as thorough.
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