Perfect Days

The film starts slow, but that's the point. We start to know a dedicated Tokyo toilet cleaner who goes through his daily routine, apparently happy with his life. Then a series of minor events cause upheaval: his colleagues, family, and romantic interest remind him of life's missed opportunities. All very subtle reminders that you can be perfectly happy in a bland life following your daily routine, but that life's circumstances are forever changing, and are inviting and challenging you to lead life on a higher, more interesting level. The closing shot reveals a clearly emotional toilet cleaner driving to work: life's new opportunities have unsettled him. The open ending leaves us wondering what's next. A great movie that is largely carried by the phenomenal Koji Yashuko: he superbly carries the story with his facial expressions between the extremely sparse dialogues. The cinematography by Franz Lustig is also incredibly good: the closing scene, the loving lighting of the numerous toilets, etc. I'd rate it higher but the film is vaguely unsatisfying in its sublety: it generates the itch but just barely scratches it. But definitely one of the best films of 2023.