In Perfect Days, which is Japan’s official entry to the 96th Academy Awards, we follow Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo, who has opted for a simple life. In a poignant scene, Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) says, “Next time is next time, now is now,” — a pronounced iteration of Carpe diem (seize the day), an eternal verse written by the Roman poet Horace. The film is replete with such poetic lines. When asked about the philosophical musings in the film, the auteur Wim Wenders says, “Perfect Days is a poetry.” According to the filmmaker, the central theme of the film is a grand proclamation to seize the day.After four decades of filmmaking, Wenders’ prolific career has brought him a BAFTA award and Palme d’Or for Wings of Desire, along with three Academy Award nominations and a Grammy award. On why he thinks Perfect Days is inherently poetic in nature, the director says, “Hirayama is free. Actually, if you get rid of the burden of contemporary civilization, you will feel a certain liberation. Hirayama doesn’t have a television. He doesn’t know what Spotify is and doesn’t have internet access; his phone is just for making phone calls. He has renounced so many things and he is an incredibly free person. And freedom is the ultimate condition for poetry,” explains Wim Wenders.Despite being one of the pioneers in New German Cinema, Wim’s artistry has transcended cultural barriers. He showed the American landscape in Paris, Texas. In Wings of Desire, he took us to a divided Germany in the 80s, while his documentary Buena Vista Social Club delves into the music of Cuba. “For me, the driving force to make a film is not the story or the character. The driving force for me is the place. If the place inspires me, I will spend time discovering it and listening to its stories and feelings, and then I will find out the story that can only take place here.
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