Perfect Days (2023) Movie Review

What do you think your life would look like being a full-time toilet cleaner? Most think you'd be miserable, but this film's story might convince you otherwise. 

The film starts right from when our main character, Hirayama(-san), wakes up, folds his futon, brushes his teeth, puts on his uniform, gets a can of coffee from the vending machine outside his run-down apartment and gets in his microvan of cleaning supplies to roam around the streets of Tokyo to various public bathrooms. Not a single word is said throughout the whole morning while he cleans the toilets until other characters like his co-worker, arrives late and starts talking about his life as if Hirayama-san asked about it. 

There's a lot of silence in the movie but a kind that gives it a very peaceful yet sorrowful mood to it as the story reveals parts about his past and relationships with family. To my surprise, not a single day in the span of two weeks or so of his life is exactly the same. His morning and evening routine are somewhat consistent but often there are obstacles induced by other characters that disturb the said activities. Despite it all he consistently manages to clean all the toilets everyday and he never forgets to smile while looking up at the sky through the leaves. 

This film might romanticize being a low-wage public worker in Japan too much, however it does teach you to appreciate the tiniest details about everyday life and be contemptuous with where you are. 

The music taste of Hirayama-san definitely doesn't disappoint and you'll find yourself looking up a playlist with soundtracks of it immediately after leaving the theater. 

4.5/5 go watch it at Concordia while it's still screening! 

Photo from Cannes Film Festival, as featured in The Hollywood Reporter on May 25, 2023.