“Live here and now! Enjoy the moment! Find beauty in the mundane!” – For some, these are just “mindful” thoughts with an unclear origin trending in social media. For Hirayama, they are postulates he builds his life on. A new, peaceful, and slightly bittersweet drama, “Perfect Days” by Wim Wenders, depicts everyday scenes in Tokyo, following a toilet cleaner who has found bliss in simple things. It’s so meditative that some may call this film too slow-paced and boring. However, if its central message resonates with you in any way, read along! Let‘s dive into the transcendental routine and explore the poetry of the quiet frames in “Perfect Days”! The 96th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, the 10th of March. Thus, our short Oscars sprint is also coming to an end. To conclude it with something special, we decided to take a look at a smaller category – Best International Feature – and break down the cinematography of a quiet drama from Japan. “Perfect Days” has strong competition this year, sharing the nomination with, for example, Jonathan Glazer’s powerful “The Zone of Interest”. It doesn’t matter though whether Wim Wender’s picture has a chance of winning or not. After all, it already won its place in our hearts. Interestingly, it’s done so more with a rather simplistic approach than with fancy effects or complicated tools. The quiet frames of Perfect Days: how they started This story begins with “The Tokyo Toilet Project”. Contemporary designers and architects from all...
Published By: CineD - Saturday, 9 March, 2024