Hacker Cinema
Perfect Days
PERFECT DAYS
2023 · Film · 124 min
Directed by Wim Wenders
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
12 positive5 neutralfrom 17 commenters
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18 comments on Hacker News
Some friends and I are having a conversation about "caring" - not necessarily for others but care in what you do. Wim Wenders 2023 film "Perfect Days" is relevant here.
To anyone with this kind of nostalgia I'd recommend watch 'Perfect Days'. You can live however you want.
While it is impossible to not have a smart phone at this point you get to decide how you use it. Want to feel like you are in the 90's? Stop using your phone. Consume only old or physical media if you want, get rid of streaming services. Go buy an old car if you feel like it. Go read a book. Anything you could do in the 80's and 90's you can do now just as easy. You just have to curate such a life.
I think the only place you have to compromise is work. You can't roleplay like it's the 90's if you work in tech. But hey when you clock out of work turn your laptop off and go do whatever you want. Again, there is nothing stopping you from doing anything you could have done back then now (except maybe buy a house).
The movie Perfect Days captures this perfectly.
As weird or hard as it sounds, you need to embrace being alone. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to expose yourself to situations where you meet people or think about how you spend your time (may I suggest: limit internet/computer time). It just means you should enjoy the positives that come with being alone and avoid seeing it as a shameful thing you need to distract yourself from. Other people in other circumstances never get a chance to be for themselves and have the reflection and thoughts this allows for. You are with yourself and that is hard and frightening, but also a chance to come to terms with yourself. From your description it is pretty clear thst this is probably something you need to do.
Get something to care for, plants for example. If you need inspiration on a deeper level consider watching Perfect Days by Wim Wenders. Don't read too much about it before. It is one of those films that gave me a new perspective on things, may it do the same for you. To find joy in the simple things and go through your day in dignity.
You can only think of 2 notable films since 2022?
* American Fiction
* The Holdovers
* Oppenheimer
* Perfect Days(!)
* Nosferatu
* Conclave
* Challengers
* The Mastermind
I can rattle off more but those seem pretty hard to argue with. All of them are better than EEAAO.
Watch japanese films. Or just generally don't watch american films
Kore-eda Hirokazu: Still Walking (2008), Monster (2023), Shoplifters (2018)
Hamaguchi Ryusuke: Drive My Car (2021), Evil Does Not Exist (2023)
A Story of Yonosuke (2013) from Okita Shuichi
Memories of Matsuko (2006) from Nakashima Tetsuya
Departures (2008) from Takita Yojiro
Perfect Days (2023) from Wim Wenders. Even though he is not japanese it's a very japanese film
but there are lot more
Vinyl record covers are nicely-sized artworks for displaying in a room.
Listening to an album you love, while taking the time to flip the record or tape, or taking the time listen to an entire album in your streaming service of choice, helps you to notice things and be present.
Recommended film: Perfect Days by Wim Wenders - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_Days
Recommended book: Bridge of Waves by W.A. Mathieu - https://www.shambhala.com/bridge-of-waves-288.html
In 02026: Slow down, and fix things.
Slow is smooth.
Smooth is fast.
I've seen many good films this decade too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There Is No Evil (شیطان وجود ندارد) 2020
Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー) 2021
The two Dune films
Alcarràs 2022
Suzume (すずめの戸締まり) 2022
Monster (怪物) 2023
Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet lehdet) 2023
The Holdovers 2023
Perfect Days 2023
The Substance 2024
Bugonia 2025 (even though it's a remake)
Spoiler: Hero of Perfect Days film lives alone, feels lonely and fight with sadness.
Ah thanks for reminding me about this. Lots of films to catch up on this year! I love how international Sight and Sound’s list is too.
I really enjoyed Kneecap and Perfect Days this year.
Here’s a moderately more “optimistic” take.
Most users just don’t care, and power users will eventually learn to use better tools.
It’s the exact same rational behind airlines charging the same, but offering ludicrously valuable loyalty programs.
User behavior changes based off of these outcomes, and the short-term hyper focus on metrics to the detriment of the long term usability will eventually have detrimental effects, and behavior will change, and we’ll get better alternatives.
Re: Netflix. Actually, most people just want to consume slop. The popularity of reality TV proves this. Now they can consume slop with their whole family for $16/mo instead of $80/mo with cable. This is an objectively better outcome, and does not preclude studios from putting out genuinely incredible works of art. I have seen some incredible movies. A24 keeps pumping out bangers, Perfect Days and Look Back were some of my other faves from this year.
But I agree with the author that the state of things isn’t “ideal”. I’m just offering a perspective that the whole world doesn’t fucking suck completely and maybe you’re being melodramatic and overly pessimistic.
I highly recommend this movie from Wim Wenders, Perfect Days, about a Tokyo public bathroom worker:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZBbX5A1FA
I know the synopsis doesn’t do it justice, but really, go watch it. One the best movies I’ve seen in a while.
I love the word (e.g. the movie Perfect Days), but I feel a little sad seeing these beautiful ideas adopted as names for mundane products. I guess there's no harm in it - it's OK, really - but it feels a little cheapening.
Check out the movie "Perfect Days"
> Being content doesn’t mean being blind. It means knowing the difference between a good fight and a selfish one.
I recently watched the movie Perfect Days (2023) and found a similarly resonant theme of contentment and simplicity in life.
It makes one stop and wonder why one often tends to let so many external things drive our lives, happiness, and contentment when things can be so much simpler if we just start to try to see the beauty in what we already have.
The recent movie Perfect Days (2023) seems to reflect this as well.
From wikipedia: "[Director Wim] Wenders was invited to Tokyo by Koji Yanai to observe the Tokyo Toilet Project, a project in which Japanese public toilets were redesigned in 17 locations throughout Shibuya with the help of 16 creators invited from around the world. Wenders was invited to take a look at the uniqueness of each of these facilities. At first, the producers envisioned Wenders would make a short film or series of short films on the facilities, but he opted for a feature film"
This reminds me of the recent movie “Perfect Days”. It’s about a japanese man who lives his ikigai cleaning Tokyo toilets.
The new Wim Wenders movie, Perfect Days, is an account of how that's done (the story is about a toilet cleaning man in Tokyo who is paid by the city)