Perfect Days (2023)
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The essence of this movie fully took hold of me in the scene where Koji Yakusho breaks down after hearing about his father. Suddenly every part of the methodical routines we see in the movie and the escapism into hobbies that had their heyday in his teenage years snapped into focus. Hariyama has protected himself from past trauma by creating this analog world and he is very rattled when something disrupts him. In particular I think about how upset he gets from Takashi suddenly quitting and being pushed to cover his shifts, thus upsetting his whole day’s plan. I get it, man. You’re leading a life that I envy in many ways, but you’ve sacrificed so much to build it and yet it remains very fragile. Incredible stuff.