Perfect Days

⭐8.5/10

This is a Japanese indie movie about an old man who cleans toilets. Its very simple in that it essentially has no plot, it just follows this guy as he goes through his daily routine, occasionally having that interrupted by mild inconveniences. Its not got a ton of dialogue, and is mostly a movie about how this guy is able to enjoy the simple pleasures like taking pictures and listening to tapes. 

This movie ended up being pretty existential for me, maybe more than intended. I've been thinking a lot about contentment and happiness a lot lately, especially as we move around and try to figure out what we want to do and what would make us happy. I think this movie is pretty direct in saying that anyone can be happy doing anything... But I'm not totally sure I bought it. 

Honestly this movie felt, in part, like an advertisement for Tokyo. The city is so beautiful and clean and walkable, and even though he's poor, the neighborhood doesn't look too bad. Also, cleaning toilets seems like a bad job, but all the toilets he cleans are pristine. Sometimes there are a few pieces of toilet paper on the floor, but trust me when I say that this man has never seen a bathroom after a true shitter has come out. Cleaning toilets is just a different job in a country that doesn't have Taco Bell. I'd like to see a movie about a guy trying to find happiness in Southside Chicago or some small town in Kentucky. Let's see him clean up diarrhea covering a stall door or vomit plugging the sink. Anyone can be happy in Tokyo, okay! 

I found myself thinking like, what if he had a disability, or was racially profiled and the victim of hate crime? I know that's not the point of the movie, and he had his own issues he was dealing with, but I found myself sceptical sometimes. Indeed, the movie I'm describing sounds pretty lame and preachy, but it certainly made me think. 

I should stop there because that's not the movie I got, and for what it's worth, I loved this movie. The simple act of appreciating beautiful trees, or picking out a cassette in the morning are images that stuck with me. I definitely felt a little despair in that I'm not sure I could be happy living such a solitary life, but he gets out and goes to restaurants for water and stuff which was cute. Just not sure I could get by without my daily $7-10 purchase. 

I really love this style of movie, and I'd wager that this will be an emerging genre in coming years. Cozy movies, almost ASMR, with no real stakes. Just watching people go on with their lives in artful ways. It seems perfect for the times we are living in. I definitely appreciated this movie after a week in which it felt like the world might end soon.