What age is Perfect Days appropriate for?

11 alone, 10 with a parent; 11 in France. The whole movie, watched in full: what's in it, and how to talk about it with your child.

Why is Perfect Days not recommended under 11?

What's in it: above the official rating, and why; almost nothing happens, deliberately; a past you sense and never learn; an adult who smokes and has his beer. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

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Perfect Days: what age is it for? 11 alone, 10 with a parent

11 alone, 10 with a parent.

Movie · 2023 · 2 h 03 · drama

YRS

The trailer

Alone, or with you

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not yetwith an adult, or to talk about afteralonethe sweet spot

The official US rating is PG; we never go below it, and here we go above: 11. Alone from 11; from 10, with an adult or by talking about it afterwards.

The sweet spot: around 14-17, the age at which you wonder what to do with your life, and an existence with no visible ambition becomes a question rather than a bore. Why a sweet spot?

Official US rating: PG; zinema says 11. In France, zinema would say 11.

Watch the trailerContinue in zinemathen where to watch it, in zinema · more trailers, and where to watch films · Where to stream itWhere to watch

What it's about

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

Why 11

Above the official rating, and whyRated PG in the US (parental guidance suggested). We say 11: A film with no violence, no danger and almost no plot, whose only adult content is constant smoking and a beer at night. What sets the age is two hours of silence and repetition. Eleven years old, ten with a parent.
reading
Almost nothing happens, deliberatelyNo plot, no danger, no villain. The film is silent for more than a third of its length, with no background score, and repeats the same gestures day after day. That is what sets the age: an eight-year-old is bored, an eleven-year-old can enter it if it is offered as an observation rather than a story.
A past you sense and never learnHis niece turns up having run away, his sister arrives in a chauffeured car, and you understand he left a wealthy background without being told why. He cries at the end, at length, while driving. Nothing is explained, and that is what unsettles young viewers.
An adult who smokes and has his beerHirayama smokes a great deal, alone, on his balcony and in his van, and has a drink at the bar in the evening. It is shown as routine, without comment. Two crude words in all. The film is in Japanese, translated at the bottom of the frame.

What the movie brings

An invisible job shown with total care: the tools, the mirror under the bowl, the pride of work done well.
A lesson in attention: light in the leaves, the same tree photographed every day, the idea that looking is an activity.
A rare counterweight to everything else children see, where you must be remarkable in order to count.

Watching it together

Before

Warn them that nothing will happen: framed that way the film holds; framed as a story, it disappoints.

After

at 11 and up

Did Hirayama choose this life or settle for it, do you think?

See the facts

Long dark scenes, night, storm●●● · shownmeasured

A moment that calls for a parent●●○ · suggestedmeasured

Abandonment, separation, confinement●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●●○ · shownmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

Pace●●○ · shownmeasured

Smoking●●○ · shownreading

Alcohol●○○ · saidmeasured

Fighting, brawls●○○ · shownmeasured

Insults, hurtful words●○○ · shownmeasured

Swearing●○○ · shownmeasured

Tense music or sound●○○ · shownreading

Visible injury, blood●○○ · shownmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

Les Caprices de l’Enfant Roi 12, 11 with a parent
The Mandalorian 14
Practical Magic 2 13
The Chosen 11, 10 with a parent

The latest guides

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A zinema reading from September 23, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made