Japanese Film PERFECT DAYS-A Slow Burn with Much to Yearn

The Japanese language film PERFECT DAYS won a halcyon of awards and nominations including an Oscar nomination for this year's best foreign film. Interestingly, this is a joint Japanese/German film and the only Japanese film not to have had a Japanese director at its helm. The protagonist, Hirayama (Koji Yakusho), is a middle-aged Japanese man who lives alone in a minuscule and sparsely furnished space.  He toils as a public toilet cleaner but toil doesn't quite describe what many would find menial if not demeaning. Hirayama rises before dawn, folds and puts away his sleeping mat and purchases a beverage from the vending machine outside his flat before getting in his van and driving to his first latrine with the a waking city scape. Before setting out, Hirayama selects from his eclectic cassette collection which illicit life to the film and animation to Hirayama's stoic expressions.  At work, Hirayama is meticulous leaving  behind an immaculate place for others to place their behinds. Subtitles are almost obsolete as Hirayama engages in little if any, daily dialogue. On some job sites he is joined by a much younger, and much more garrulous man, Takashi. Takashi tries to impress his attractive, wanna-be girlfriend, Aya (Air Yamada) and begs Hirayama to lend him his van. Hirayama lends Takashi the van with himself in tow. Takashi tells Aya that he rarely hears Hirayama speak. Aya is intrigued by the cassette collection. She surreptitiously pilfers one of Hirayama's prized cassettes. When she returns the "borrowed" tape, Hirayama is surprised and seemingly hurt by her deceit but agrees to let her listen once more to the tape inside his van. Upon departing, Aya places a kiss on his cheek which elicits an expression that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways: shock, tenderness, longing and an overall sense of feeling bereft. The camera captures Hirayama bathing in the communal baths at the end of the day and savoring a meal at one of a few places he frequents. He's observant of others and his surroundings.  We follow him navigate his days and nights of solitude with an eye that finds harmony where most tend to overlook. He fills his time with literary pursuits, listening to music, photography and tending to his numerous plants. The enigma of his prior life are somewhat answered when he's visited by his vivacious niece (Nari Salto) who ran away from home. His niece badgers her beloved uncle about his life but aimiably accepts his ambiguous responses.  This languorous film's powers are buried treasures that abound in mundane things that drizzle through one's daily life and shimmering magical moments are ephemeral gifts in resplendent shades of perfect days. There are  several takeaways for me this film. I pondered the alluring grace and simplicity of living a very spartan lifestyle. Nevertheless, I submit to the overshadowing yearning for tangible experiences which only comes when engaging directly with others.  PERFECT DAYS is a nearly perfect film.