Perfect Days -2023-2023 Apr 2026

When it was over, I didn’t want to scroll on my phone. I wanted to go outside and look at the shadows on the pavement. I wanted to water my plants. I wanted to listen to “Sunday Morning” on vinyl.

★★★★★ (5/5) Best paired with: A cassette tape, a cold can of coffee from a vending machine, and a window seat. Have you seen Perfect Days? Did it make you want to buy a film camera and a set of feather dusters? Let me know in the comments below.

Wenders is playing a long game. He wants you to notice the texture of concrete, the way steam rises from a noodle bowl, the sound of a cassette tape clicking into place. He wants you to realize that Hirayama isn't trapped in his routine—he is liberated by it. Perfect Days -2023-2023

Then, slowly, I stopped waiting for the plot.

But if you are tired. If you are burnt out. If you have forgotten why you get up in the morning. Watch this film. Let it recalibrate your senses. When it was over, I didn’t want to scroll on my phone

And yet, Perfect Days is the rare film that forces you to change the volume of your own life. We meet Hirayama, played with heartbreaking subtlety by Kōji Yakusho (who won the Best Actor prize at Cannes for this role). Hirayama wakes up before dawn to the sound of a woman sweeping the street outside his modest apartment. He brushes his teeth, trims his mustache, waters his tiny ferns, and climbs into his van.

The film doesn't romanticize poverty or labor. Hirayama has a choice. He could be a corporate drone. He chooses instead to be a custodian of small spaces, finding dignity in doing one thing perfectly. Be warned: There is a moment near the end of this film—involving a shadow, a hug, and a sunrise—that will break you open. I won’t spoil it. But I will say that Kōji Yakusho’s face, caught between a smile and a sob as Lou Reed sings “I’m gonna be your perfect day,” is one of the greatest acting moments of the decade. I wanted to listen to “Sunday Morning” on vinyl

There is a quiet revolution happening in cinema, and it smells faintly of bleach and morning sunlight. It’s called Perfect Days , the 2023 masterpiece from German director Wim Wenders, and it might just be the most peaceful two hours you’ll spend this year.

On the surface, the plot sounds like a dare: Follow a middle-aged toilet cleaner in Tokyo as he cleans public restrooms. That’s it. No car chases, no villains, no tragic backstory dump.