76. A life philosophy in the form of a movie
How to have your own "perfect days".
suggested reading method
To best savour this artwork, please take a moment to eliminate distractions. Consider minimizing all other windows on your computer; putting other devices (phone, tv etc) aside; taking a deep breath, to the full extent of your lung capacity; and focusing solely on the “artwork” section.
Once you’ve processed that to your satisfaction, the rest of the post is optional reading, provided only to share my own impressions and reasons for choosing this piece.
artwork
Perfect Days (2023) directed by Wim Wenders.
interpretation
I saw this movie in September, and more than any movie has in recent memory, this made me think.
Now, I love movies that keep me thinking long past the credits rolling. If you’ve read any post on this Substack, you know I love turning things over in my mind, so this is right up my alley. However, thinking beyond Perfect Days felt a little different. There wasn’t a puzzle to solve in the narrative, because the story is so straightforward. Rather, I began interrogating my own routines.
Like Hirayama, each day I place my watch in the same spot. I have the same breakfast: eggs and overnight chia instead of a canned Boss Coffee. I listen to the same playlist driving to work: on Spotify instead of cassette tapes. So I wondered, what role do these routines and these daily-used objects play in my life? Is it still helpful going through the motions if I become numbed to their simple pleasures? Or should I not feel the pressure to maximize every moment in that way, so long as I have the freedom to make my own choices? Can I be content to just be?
Perfect Days tracks just a few weeks of Hirayama’s life, and we see how his small hobbies brighten his daily life. He smiles as he sprays his plants under the UV light. He observes the leaves in the park, and feels sufficiently moved by their beauty to take a photo. Yet, his circumstances change from day to day: a sudden rainstorm, a colleague quitting, an unexpected visit. This shows that even when we try to control and calibrate an exact, ideal routine, life just happens.
The contrast between control and circumstance is even more pronounced because we witness Hirayama’s extreme asceticism. He observes behaviours both good and bad without appearing to judge or react; he barely speaks. This is one possible critique of the film, that Hirayama doesn’t interact much with those around him – even in situations where it would have made sense to take more decisive action – so he isn’t much of a role model. I tend to think this was intentional; he is the metaphorical blank slate, for us to observe and understand the imperfect human experience.
The week after watching Perfect Days, I attended a Mass with a reading from Mark 7:15: “There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man.” I thought the same is shown of Hirayama, and by extension, all of us. We are not defined by what happens outside of us, but rather, how we feel about it and how we react.
Perhaps from Hirayama’s vantage point, each day is perfect, if only because it exists. So, back to the grandest question the film poses: will we do with this gift of choice?
I, for one, am still working on the balance between optimizing my surroundings, letting life happen naturally, and – perhaps most importantly – finding the wonder in every little thing.
context
Wim Wenders (b. 1945) is a German director and documentary filmmaker, who has been making movies since the late 1960s. His other well-known works include Wings of Desire; Paris, Texas; and Until the End of the World.
According to Wenders, Perfect Days began as a commission to document the new series of public toilets that were constructed for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
If you’ve seen this film, how did you feel afterwards? What did you make of the final scene? Feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments!
What a stunning reflection of a stunning movie. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Rachel ☺️