Notes from the Weekend

WHILE routine often carries a negative connotation, the film Perfect Days (Wim Wenders, 2023) invites viewers to see beauty in the mundane. It follows Hirayama, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo who finds contentment in life’s simple pleasures and the daily rituals that lend his days structure and tranquility. Outwardly, his existence follows an unruffled course, but a series of unexpected encounters begins to peel back layers, gradually revealing fragments of his past. Despite his modest profession, Hirayama has cultivated artistic depths: he listens to music on cassette on his drives to and from work (Lou Reed, Nina Simone); reads every night before bed (William Faulkner, Patricia Highsmith); and enjoys photography, capturing the play of light and shadow through the trees with a 35mm Olympus film camera during his lunch break. This poignant, emotional film looks at a life that’s lived for the moment. While both P and I enjoyed it very much, our interpretations differed based on our own perspectives on life. I felt that perhaps the main character was running from something in his past, and P didn’t get that sense. (I think I was right.)

Last week, there were some great inclusions in our Newsletter. It is the monthly free version, which you can read here for a limited time. This week’s links include a French actor’s London town house, decorated by a Belgian designer; leather strap sandals and draped dresses for summer days; a look at why women invest their money less profitably than men, It Brit Designer Jermaine Gallacher, and much, much more.

xo,

P.S. past weekend links