Perfect Days
<div><div><b>All <a href="https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/filmhouse-birthday">FH Birthday</a> screenings (with the exception of <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i> (70mm) and <i>Don't Look Now</i> + discussion) will be priced at £6 for Filmhouse Members. Book tickets for two or more of our FH Birthday screenings in the same transaction as a non-member to receive a discount!</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Screening as part of <a href="https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/team-birthday-picks">Team Birthday Picks</a> - read down for thoughts on the film from those who chose it!</b></div></div><div><br></div><div>From acclaimed writer-director Wim Wenders (<i>Paris, Texas</i>, <i>Wings of Desire</i>), <i>Perfect Days</i> takes him to Tokyo to tell a story celebrating the hidden joys of Japanese culture. Winner of the Best Actor award at Cannes 2023, Koji Yakusho (<i>Cure</i>, <i>Tampopo</i>) stars as Hirayama, a contemplative middle-aged man who lives a life of modesty and serenity, spending his days balancing his job as a dutiful caretaker of Tokyo’s numerous public toilets with his passion for music, literature and photography. As we join him on his structured daily routine, a series of unexpected encounters gradually begin to reveal a hidden past that lies behind his otherwise content and harmonious life. Combining a refreshingly unstereotypical depiction of the Japanese capital with a soundtrack comprised of iconic hits from the 60s and 80s, this is a subtle, shimmering and ultimately life-affirming reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.</div><div><br></div><div>--</div><div><br></div><div>Somehow this film, that is so softly paced, captures you from the very beginning. It is a joy to watch this peaceful middle-aged man live out his days in contented solitude. His routine is hypnotic and his collections of joys, objects and hobbies are tactile and real. I found myself contemplating my own routines, my own little joys while watching. I am obsessed with zooming in and out of life in the way that this film does - tree bark, shadow silhouettes, puddles in bathrooms. Showing vignettes of a seemingly normal and maybe even boring day. Despite this apparently monotonous life he lives, he finds pockets within it to sit down, take space for himself, to enjoy what he has and take in his surroundings. Be that the trees carefully captured on film from below, conversations with near strangers, a good lunch on a bench or a book that makes you think. This film is a lovely reminder to slow down and be grateful for what you have. It invites you to tell your own story as you watch, using environmental storytelling and empty space for contemplation - promoting the mindfulness that the film embodies. Perfect Days is visually beautiful, quietly profound and great reminder to be more like Hirayama, find those little joys, even on a day that feels the same as yesterday.</div><div><br></div><div><i>Written by Mollie MacGregor, Cinema Duty Manager</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>--</div><div><i><br></i></div><div>Having got myself into the wonderful world of film fairly recently, I can pinpoint a few films along the way that have had a significant impact on me. Denis Villeneuve's <i>Dune </i>(also the only film I managed to see at Filmhouse's previous incarnation!) was the first film I saw that let me see blockbuster cinema's potential for scale and grandeur. Charlotte Wells' <i>Aftersun</i> showed me what independent cinema was capable of (and also destroyed me emotionally for several days following). Wim Wenders' <i>Perfect Days</i>, however, was the first film that actively changed my outlook on life.</div><div><br></div><div>There's not a day that goes by now that I don't open my front door and look up at the sky for a second before getting on with life, or look out the window of the Filmhouse office at the beautiful big tree in the courtyard, admiring the way the light shimmers through the leaves as they sway in the wind. <i>Perfect Days</i> and the main man Hirayama showed me the importance of acknowledging and appreciating the little things in life, the things the world has to offer naturally and the art that humanity offers, whether that's cinema, music, art or literature. Never would I have thought, three years ago when I first signed up to Letterboxd on Barbenheimer day, that a film that follows a man cleaning art deco toilet in Tokyo for two hours would have such a profound effect on me. But here we are, celebrating the first birthday of the best wee cinema in the world with it, and I couldn't be more grateful.</div><div><br></div><div><i>Written by David Harrold, Marketing Officer</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><div>--</div><div><br></div><div>So simple, so gorgeous. I could watch this gentle old man live his ordinary life forever. The most precious things in life are already right there in front of us.</div><div><br></div><div><i>Written by Amandine Jalon, Cinema and Hospitality Assistant</i></div></div>DramaPT2H4MPG2025-06-28Koji Yakusho
Tokio Emoto
Arisa Nakano
Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Takuma Takasaki
Koji Yanai
Perfect Days"Perfect Days"Showtimes
June 14, 5:15 pm
June 17, 3:15 pm
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