--- title: "Perfect Days: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/perfect-days/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/perfect-days" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Perfect Days (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 17 reviews: 16 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews for Perfect Days are close to unanimous, and the praise settles in two places. The first is Koji Yakusho, whose near-wordless performance as Hirayama, a Tokyo toilet cleaner at peace with his routine, is called restrained, soulful and rich in interior life by almost every critic who writes about it. The second is Wim Wenders himself, with most critics naming this his strongest fiction film in decades, several noting the debt to Ozu and the care with which Tokyo’s streets, trees and shadows are photographed. Reservations are few and mild. Time Out finds it warm but a rung below the director’s best work. The Playlist thinks the class commentary is underdeveloped, The Skinny detects some cutesiness in the script, and Paste feels the tranquillity tips into syrup. Nobody dislikes it; the spread runs from good to excellent, with nearly everyone in the upper half. ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 February 2024. Wim Wenders captures the beauty of the everyday in his best fiction film since Wings of Desire. The delicate, meditative film adapts the director’s documentary approach to a fictional subject centered on a Tokyo toilet cleaner's quiet routine. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/perfect-days-wim-wenders-captures-beauty-everyday-his-best-fiction-film-since-wings-desire) ## Empire — Alex Godfrey Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 19 February 2024. The film tenderly explores how routine can bring bliss and comfort to a solitary Tokyo toilet cleaner. It praises the lead performance for its nuance and the film's serene, meditative quality as a rare soul-cleansing experience. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/perfect-days/) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2024. The review describes the film as a beautifully observed paean to caretaking, led by Koji Yakusho's sublime performance as a solitary man at peace with his routine existence cleaning public toilets. It singles out the exquisite pleasure of the near-silent lead performance and the film's hard-won wisdom of acceptance. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-02-08/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-japan-koji-yakusho) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 February 2024. Festival review. The film feels like a lifelong Wenders dream realized, the best he has made in years, with Yakusho's face and Tokyo's architecture captured with rare sensitivity. It finds profound humanity in the humdrum details of one man's contented routine. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/wim-wenders-has-tried-to-make-perfect-days-his-whole-life.html) ## The AV Club — Murtada Elfadl Rating B+. 7 February 2024. Wenders achieves a sweet and simple return to form with this patient, observational portrait of a Tokyo janitor whose routine reveals wonder in ordinary moments. Yakusho's subtle, compelling performance anchors the film's appreciation of small joys and human connection. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/perfect-days-movie-review-wim-wenders-1851232566) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 3/4/4. 22 February 2024. Wim Wenders’ gentle character study features a beautifully restrained performance from Kôji Yakusho as a toilet cleaner who lives a simple life in Tokyo. The film’s profound simplicity and poetic balance are highlighted, with Yakusho conveying everything through subtle glances and movements. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/perfect-days) ## Radio Times — Max Copeman Rating 4/5. Veteran German director Wim Wenders heads to Japan with this serene and unassuming drama about a contented Tokyo toilet cleaner. Strengthened by a sympathetic performance from Koji Yakusho, it is an ode to solitude and everyday pleasures that rewards patience with its gentle pacing. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-uysxt5/perfect-days/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2023. Festival review. Wim Wenders returns to Cannes with a meditative tale of a man living a quiet existence in Tokyo. It is a likeable, elegantly crafted philosophical contemplation about the meaning of life, with an immensely likeable central performance from Koji Yakusho and luminous photography. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/perfect-days-cannes-review/5182617.article) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 February 2024. Wenders delivers a profound, Zen-like portrait of a humble, dignified toilet cleaner who finds joy in simple routines amid Tokyo's working-class life. It highlights the film's tactile appreciation of everyday pleasures and resistance to conventional success metrics as beautiful and moving. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/perfect-days-review-most-profound-film-toilet-cleaners-2918205) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2023. Festival review. The critic calls it Wenders' best narrative film in decades, a simple touching ode to working routine and everyday human connection that feels fresh and arthouse-friendly. It praises the humane embrace of everyday blessings alongside occasional flourishes of stoic lyricism and emotional depth, such as a family reunion and a shadow-dance encounter. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/perfect-days-review-1235625063/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 3/5. 25 May 2023. Festival review. Wim Wenders returns with a gentle rumination on life, music and Tokyo toilets in a realist drama told with fairy-tale lightness. It is a ruminative slice of slow cinema that rewards patience with warm emotions and a character study with real depth, though not top-tier Wenders. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/perfect-days-2023) ## Financial Times — Leslie Felperin Rating ★★★★☆. 22 February 2024. The veteran filmmaker brings moments of real beauty to the gentle routine of one man’s life. It is not a perfect movie but it comes pretty close, adding up to much more than a series of contemplative moments of beauty with a groovy pop and rock soundtrack and a greatest-hits medley of Wenders’ finest film moves. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/7269cafe-328a-4641-9bda-f05f7bb9b9dd) ## IndieWire — Siddhant Adlakha 26 May 2023. Festival review. Wenders delivers a quiet ode to Ozu with this slice-of-life drama centered on Tokyo's distinctive public toilets and a man's humble daily existence. The review highlights the German director's empathetic observation of routine and place. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-1234868033/) ## The Guardian 25 February 2024. The German director makes a strong case for simple living with this achingly lovely tale starring Kōji Yakusho as a Tokyo public toilet cleaner who finds quiet joy in the world around him. Yakusho conveys an extraordinarily rich interior life almost entirely without dialogue, and the film is a zen meditation on beauty, fulfilment and simplicity that is unexpectedly life-affirming. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/25/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-koji-yakusho-tokyo-toilet-cleaner) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 25 May 2023. Festival review. Wenders crafts an ineffably lovely, emotionally rich character study of a Tokyo toilet cleaner's pared-down routine of service and small pleasures. The film builds cumulative power through clarity, soulfulness and empathy in observing an ordinary life. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-1235501313/) ## The New York Times — Alissa Wilkinson Rating Critic’s Pick. 7 February 2024. The critic finds the film a gentle excavation of a Tokyo toilet cleaner's life, noting how it pays close attention to shadows, trees, and small daily routines as characters in their own right. It portrays the protagonist's habits as both a source of quiet fulfillment and a possible bulwark against inner chaos. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/movies/perfect-days-review.html) ## The Telegraph 22 February 2024. This Oscar-nominated drama from Wim Wenders about a toilet cleaner's daily life is a lovingly detailed character study. Played with a mesmerising light touch by Kōji Yakusho, the film is a softly spoken and lovingly detailed portrait of the steady yet quietly altering patterns of a Tokyo service worker’s daily life, with Wenders’ affection for Tokyo and avoidance of cliché. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders/) ## The Times — Ed Potton Rating ★★★★☆. 22 February 2024. This understated drama by Wim Wenders is really rather lovely. It is a rhapsody in loo starring Koji Yakusho as a soulful sixtysomething who takes the business of scrubbing public lavatories very seriously, with a guileless purity and delicate, contemplative performance from Yakusho. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/perfect-days-review-koji-yakusho-h5l0q5fbp) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating 9/10. 17 September 2023. Festival review. The film is a masterwork from Wenders about finding joy and beauty in life's small routines and overlooked details. It is anchored by Yakusho's flawless, naturalistic lead performance as the contented toilet cleaner Hirayama. [Read the review](https://collider.com/perfect-days-review/) ## Deadline — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2023. Festival review. The critic praises Wim Wenders' gentle exploration of the dignity of labor in the life of a Tokyo toilet cleaner, highlighting Koji Yakusho's serene performance and the film's focus on simple pleasures and small gestures. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/05/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-cannes-film-festival-1235379534/) ## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2024. The critic praises the film's patient, Ozu-inspired observation of small daily rituals and human connections through the life of a Tokyo toilet cleaner. She singles out the 4:3 framing and the protagonist's quiet wisdom for allowing overlooked mysteries and fleeting beauty to shine. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/perfect-days-2023-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) ## The Playlist — Rafa Sales Ross Rating B+. 26 May 2023. Festival review. The review calls it a moving but imperfect return to form, honoring Ozu and others through serene routines and a standout silent performance, while noting the class commentary feels underdeveloped. It praises the lead actor's ability to convey depth through glances and music-infused moments. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders-latest-is-a-moving-yet-not-unflawed-return-to-form-cannes-20230526/) ## The Skinny — Stefania Sarrubba Rating ★★★★. 16 February 2024. The film offers a bittersweet slice-of-life portrait of a Tokyo toilet cleaner's contented solitude and rituals, which begins to face challenges from brief human encounters. It praises the commanding central performance by Kōji Yakusho while noting some elusiveness and occasional cutesiness in the script. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/perfect-days-wim-wenders-review) ## The Wrap — Nicholas Barber Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2023. Festival review. Wenders delivers an endearing portrait of a modest toilet cleaner whose quiet, diligent life and cultural pursuits offer a philosophical look at happiness in simplicity, marking a return to form. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/perfect-days-review-wim-wenders/) ## Paste — Brianna Zigler Rating 7.2. 10 November 2023. Festival review. Wenders' patient, understated film is a sweet return that lovingly captures Tokyo and simple pleasures but can feel overly tranquil and syrupy. Yakusho's nuanced, Zen-like performance as Hirayama is the standout anchor. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/wim-wenders/perfect-days-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/perfect-days.md