None of these were part of my coveted list to see. But all of them had a common thread when I saw the trailer - calm, serene, nature, slow, peace. I should try putting this is CHAT GPT and see what movies it suggests.
Perfect Day is the story of a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, Japan. He stays alone & has some plants to give him company, books and 80’s rock music which he listens on a cassette player in his car. Ever day he gets up and does exactly the same thing. He goes to the same place for dinner and drink. He hardly speaks to anyone even his co-workers cannot get a word out of him. But he is happy, content and looks forward to his day.
We all have a conception of a perfect day, but Is there ONE? Or is it just a concept in our mind. And every time the day goes against that concept / expectation we get more anxious. This also can be extended to life, like in Geeta one of the hymn says that the root cause of all evil is desire. Go with the flow, enjoy the process. Don’t focus so much on the result. All this came to mu mind as I reflected on the movie.
Since there was not much of dialogue - everything was conveyed visually using the environment, expressions, the props, location.
https://tokyotoilet.jp/en/ (read about the toilet project here)
https://bit.ly/4de1ron (this review in Hindu reflects the way I felt)
Sweet Bean & Still The Water - Naomi Kawase
The first thing you notice in both the films is how beautifully it is shot capturing the essence of a ‘cherry blossom tree’ in Sweet Bean or the Ocean in Still the Water - Both these elements are an integral part of the movie & story telling.
The main character in Sweet Bean is 75+ year old lady who is also the soul of the film. As a child she was left in a sanitorium outside the city where all leprosy patients are housed. It’s a beautiful place with lot of forest, peace and very comfortable. But the patients are not allowed to go outside or meet anyone. If you google you will read many articles on how these patients were isolated for many years without any contact with their family and other people.
The story is all about seeking a job in a sweet bean shop because it was advertised ‘age no bar’. As she makes the sweet bean it portrays the old ways of cooking where you understand the journey of the bean, thanking the land, the farmer, land etc. She literally talks to the beans and asks them to rise. Unlike fast food / ready to eat / pressure cooker the whole process takes 5 - 6 hrs. Again beautiful shot with minimum dialogues.
A kind of innocent romance but has lot of layers in it - especially of death and shaman and the in between space between god and humans. It shows the rituals which Japanese follow during death - they sing and dance to make the journey to the next world a joyful one and not filled sorrow. The beauty of the movie was both the kids riding a bicycle beside the ocean in a neat and clean road which goes up and down (see pic).
Unlike the other 2 this is high on emotion but still it’s a movie revolving around young adults coping with separation and death. The pain, angst, hurt which they carry but are unable to express or share with someone.
Solitude n Me - I alternate between Solitude n Loneliness. Being with self was a new norm when I left my job. A job which despite all it’s evils and WFH had human connects, working together with people. Even if u didn’t like many people around you you sometimes had interesting conversation thrown together. A job also has a regular flow of work but now its very high at times and low for a long time or you just feel lazy and let go or you prefer to spean time with family than attend a call which can be avoided. Writing this was enjoying my solitude - exploring a bit more about the movie or the history or relating it to my life and times. Loneliness are times when u crave to have a talk but find that the rest of the world is busy running. As I always say - everyone is fighting their own battle.
I guess this is mine - Unless I learn riding double soon 🙂
