Review: In the exquisite ‘Perfect Days,’ a city worker’s daily routine approaches the profound

A banal daily routine reveals hidden depths in the Tokyo-set gem “Perfect Days,” from one of cinema’s great poets of patience and connection, Wim Wenders. In the pantheon of films about people and their jobs, “Perfect Days” suggests a riff on the iconic “Superman” tagline: You’ll believe a man can enjoy cleaning public toilets. I don’t think I’m spoiling or depreciating the loveliness of “Perfect Days” when I say that it’s very much the work of an older director. Where Wenders’ unforgettable road movies of yore wandered memorably in contemplating our place in the world, this film beams and buzzes inside its closed loop with the hard-won wisdom of acceptance.