Last night I watched Wim Wenders' film "Perfect Days" with the wonderful Japanese actor Koji Yashuko, who plays a man who spends his days doing menial work in the toilet. The hero of the film meticulously cleans the toilets every day, taking only a few moments to eat lunch under the trees, drive home listening to tapes, eat dinner alone at a bar and read before bed. What makes the film wonderful is the face of Koji Yashuko, who almost says nothing AND somehow manages to convey joy in the small blessings of his life: the child he saves locked in the closet, the girl who steals his tape but brings it back; the sight of a tree with outstretched branches against the sky, which he photographs with his old camera; a young niece who comes from his past. The film does not explain why the hero Hiraima cleans toilets for a living. There is no backstory or moment of revelation. We learn that he has rich relatives. His sister, whom he loves, comes to pick up her daughter one day in a luxury car with a chauffeur. But gradually we learn that our silent hero loves the world around him: trees, morning light. He loves reading, is intelligent, sympathetic and generous to others. There's a great scene where he listens to a woman sing a song about a bar in New Orleans called "Rising Sun." By the end of the film, which centers on the actor's face as he drives back to work, we realize that, of course, his life had a great tragedy, but he managed to somehow overcome his sadness and find joy in the small blessings of his life. Doing his menial tasks with great diligence, doing them to the best of his ability (as only the Japanese can do), doing small acts of kindness towards the people in his life, looking around the city around him and the sky and plants he helps. I found it very sad and at the same time inspiring! The film gives a lesson for people to learn these days, a lesson in the ability to find small joys, and the ability to do small acts of kindness towards people around them and nature.