A FEW WORDS ON PERFECT DAYS *UPDATED*

Wim Wenders’ latest is one of those films that’ll be miscategorized as “simple”, “light” or even “boring” to those that watch it casually or on a surface level. But beyond the time-filling hobbies and Jeanne Dielman-esque day to day routines of the film’s main character lies a heavy story about regret and making peace with the past.

Putting aside the excess baggage and semi-ambiguous family drama of the film’s main character, I find myself wanting to live the life of someone like Hirayama. He’s a simple man that takes pride in his job, loves music on cassette and spends his free time taking photographs of trees. Having outlets & serious hobbies other than your job/work/career is incredibly important to one’s sanity. I can personally attest to this. My obsession with digging for things like music & movies keeps me sane. Hirayama’s love of photography, trees, physical media and cozy local bars keeps him sane. If he didn’t have those things he would be left alone with his thoughts of loneliness and the strained relationship with his family (it should be noted that his niece does make an effort to have some kind of a relationship with him).

Under a different director, the character of Hirayama would be a cartoonish iteration of Robert Crumb or Harvey Pekar. A curmudgeon that hates his own hobbies and prefers to be alone due to his hatred of most people. But Wim Wenders shows the positive side of niche hobbies and spending time alone. 

Interestingly enough, Perfect Days is a film that plays in to my personal hobbies and healthy obsessions. On one hand, this is very much Wenders’ own movie but it also serves as a love letter to one Yasujiro Ozu. There’s lots of visual comparisons to be made form this film.

Autumn Afternoon / Perfect Days

of course Ozu's Spirit looms largely over the movie - Wim Wenders, Tiff.net

Tokyo Story / Perfect Days

I saw TOKYO STORY, and I stayed for the next three shows [of Ozu's films] that day until I stumbled out of the theatre late at night. I'd never seen anything that had so much shaken my world - Wim Wenders, AnOtherMagazine

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Late Spring / Perfect Days

A Story Of Floating Weeds / Perfect Days

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Equinox Flower / Perfect Days

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Good Morning / Perfect Days

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Tokyo Chorus / Perfect Days

Late Spring / Perfect Days

Good Morning / Perfect Days

Good Morning / Perfect Days

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family / Perfect Days

Tokyo Story / Perfect Days

I’ve never taken Wenders for a Tarkovsky guy, but this particular moment from Perfect Days (on the right) feels like an homage to the highway scene from Solaris (also shot in Japan).

Solaris / Perfect Days

There’s even a coincidental connection to Wenders’ former mentee Jim Jarmusch (I like to imagine these two guys exist in the same universe)

Paterson / Perfect Days

 

Perfect Days feels timeless with tons of replay value and is slowly becoming my go-to movie to put on when I can’t think of anything else to watch.

FALLEN LEAVES

It’s almost as if Fallen Leaves was tailor-made for the type of Kaurismaki fan that’s been patiently waiting for him to leave behind the overtly political messages in his films and return to more personal, smaller-scale storytelling. I'm talking about anything after Lights In The Dusk. There’s nothing wrong with being a political filmmaker but I find it interesting that once Kaurismaki’s work became overtly political, they became less interesting. I say overtly because just about any Kaurismaki film is going to have some layer of social and/or political commentary (most of his characters are lower income or homeless with low-paying thankless jobs in some type of oppressed position). I just personally feel he works best when the social issues and politics serve as the backdrop instead of being the main story. In the case of Fallen Leaves, class, poverty and & abuse of power certainly play a role in the film. But at the end of the day this is a love story first. 

I like for artists to stay in the lane they’ve mastered rather than try something new and fail. That’s just me. Now…I don’t want anyone to make the same exact thing over and over but I do like when filmmakers do slightly different versions of the same and/or similar things they're great at. Again - that’s just me. And to be clear - Aki Kaurismaki will always be a voice for the voiceless. 

Fallen Leaves is a love story about a lonely working class woman and a homeless alcoholic. It feels like an updated version of both Shadows In Paradise and Match Factory Girl but with newer actors. His standard formula is there: a deadpan dramedy where boy meets girl, boy and girl hit it off, a conflict/tragic event happens and things eventually get sort of resolved. Aki Kaurismaki’s films aren’t for everyone but I could see this is a good entry-point for folks unfamiliar with his work (definitely check out Shadows In Paradise and Match Factory Girl if you enjoy Fallen Leaves).

It should be noted that this is one of Kaurismaki’s best looking films. The colors reminded me of a late period Ozu film which makes perfect sense considering how much of an Ozu fan he is…

If I go to lonely island with only one film it would still be Tokyo Story - Aki Kaurismaki, Film Quarterly

Tokyo Story / Fallen Leaves

There’s a lot of banal Ozu-esque imagery all throughout the film (factories, kitchens, teapots in the background, etc). This is quietly one of Kaurismaki's greatest homages to his Japanese idol...

I refuse to go to my grave until I have proved to myself that I’ll never reach your level, Mr. Ozu - Aki Kaurismaki, Talking With Ozu

Late Autumn / Fallen Leaves

The Only Son / Fallen Leaves

Fallen Leaves also has a lot of easter egg references to everyone from Bresson & Visconti to his good friend Jim Jarmusch (besides a scene where the two lead characters go and watch The Dead Don't Die, the minimal dialogue between the two love interests is reminiscent of the sparse dialogue in Jarmusch's Ghost Dog)...

 

Bresson

Visconti

Jarmusch

Film Quarterly: Which directors reign supreme in your pantheon of influences? 

Aki Kaurismaki: Robert Bresson

some Bresson-ian moments in Fallen Leaves...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Fallen Leaves

L'Argent / Fallen Leaves

L'Argent / Fallen Leaves

Une Femme Douce / Fallen Leaves

Now that we’ve got the old Kaurismaki back, I’d like for him to stay put and stay in his lane for as long as possible. I know that sounds incredibly stifling and selfish, but I’m an only child and sometimes we can get a little self-serving.

VISUAL HOMAGES IN GHOST DOG (GHOST DOG AT 25) *UPDATED*

Frankenstein / Ghost Dog

Ghost Dog is now 25 years old! Instead of writing some retrospective think-piece about how it’s a great film dealing with race relations between Black Americans & Italian Americans or how it’s a misunderstood meditative masterpiece, or how it’s one of Forest Whitaker’s greatest performances – I’ve decided to compile my personal favorite homages from the film. 

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

A Colt Is My Passport / Ghost Dog

Outside of the obvious sources of inspiration like Le Samourai & Branded To Kill, Ghost Dog is full of references which is sort of Jim Jarmusch’s motto. Below are the visual similarities that stood out to me the most over the years…

Meditation On Violence / Ghost Dog

Hanzo The Razor: Who's Got The Gold / Ghost Dog

GHOST DOG is obviously heavily informed by LE SAMOURAI- Jim Jarmusch, louderthanwar.com

Le Samourai / Ghost Dog

Le Samourai / Ghost Dog

but there were other things as well: films by Suzuki - Jim Jarmusch, Filmmaker Magazine

Branded To Kill / Ghost Dog

Take Aim At The Police Van / Ghost Dog

Branded To Kill / Ghost Dog

Branded To Kill /
Ghost Dog

Branded To Kill /
Ghost Dog

Branded To Kill / Ghost Dog

Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog

Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog

Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog

Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog

I gave him [Forest Whitaker] Seven Samurai, Branded to Kill, by Suzuki Le Samurai and Le Deuxième Souffle by Melville - Jim Jarmusch,  Movie Maker Magazine

Le Deuxmieme Souffle / Ghost Dog

Le Deuxmieme Souffle / Ghost Dog

I did give Forest a lot of Kurosawa and other films to watch when he asked me ‘What inspired you’ - Jim Jarmusch, Movie Maker Magazine

Incident At Blood Pass / Ghost Dog

Incident At Blood Pass / Ghost Dog

The Challenge / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo / Ghost Dog

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island / Ghost Dog

Rashomon /
Ghost Dog

Seven Samurai / Ghost Dog

Sanjuro /
Ghost Dog

Sanjuro /
Ghost Dog

Rashomon /
Ghost Dog

Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog

Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog

Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog

Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog

Yojimbo / Ghost Dog

Samurai Rebellion / Ghost Dog

Red Sun / Ghost Dog

Ghost Dog uses guns in his work, but he treats them the way a samurai would have treated a sword - Jim Jarmusch, Filmmaker Magazine

The Challenge / Ghost Dog

Sanjuro / Ghost Dog

Hayato Is Coming / Ghost Dog

Hayato Is Coming / Ghost Dog

The Tale Of Zatoichi / Ghost Dog

Throne Of Blood / Ghost Dog

Sword Of Doom / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman / Ghost Dog

Lonewolf and Cub: Baby Cart To Hades / Ghost Dog

Lonewolf and Cub: Baby Cart To Hades / Ghost Dog

Lonewolf and Cub: Baby Cart At The River Styx / Ghost Dog

Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog

Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog

Zatoichi /
Ghost Dog

Zatoichi /
Ghost Dog

Lady Snowblood / Ghost Dog

Sword Of Doom / Ghost Dog

Harakiri/ Ghost Dog

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues / Ghost Dog

The Tale of Zatoichi / Ghost Dog

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi The Fugitive / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi The Fugitive / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi The Fugitive / Ghost Dog

Yojimbo / Ghost Dog

Lonewolf and Cub: Assassin on the Road to Hell / Ghost Dog

Lonewolf and Cub / Ghost Dog

Assassin's Road / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman / Ghost Dog

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman / Ghost Dog

Hanzo The Razor - Sword Of Justice / Ghost Dog

Films made by Ozu (or the works of any masters, for that matter) may drift in and out of fashion, but their stylistic strengths and particularities are not movable - Jim Jarmusch, Artforum.com

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family / Ghost Dog

Late Autumn / Ghost Dog

Early Summer / Ghost Dog

Early Summer / Ghost Dog

Early Summer / Ghost Dog

Early Summer / Ghost Dog

Equinox Flower / Ghost Dog

Good Morning / Ghost Dog

Days Of Youth / Ghost Dog

Equinox Flower / Ghost Dog

Dragnet Girl / Ghost Dog

In the trunk he [Henry Silva] had tapes of his work that he’d made. It wasn’t his classic films like The Manchurian Candidate or Viva Zapata. It was all stuff of him with Steven Segal & Chuck Norris - Jim Jarmusch, louderthanwar.com

Code Of Silence /
Ghost Dog

Code Of Silence /
Ghost Dog

In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination - Jim Jarmusch

Breathless /
Ghost Dog

At that time, I was also inspired by very formally pure films. Films by Carl Dreyer or Bresson - Jim Jarmusch, The Guardian

Pickpocket / Ghost Dog

Pickpocket / Ghost Dog

Pickpocket / Ghost Dog

A Man Escaped / Ghost Dog