A Perfect Day

Name: A Perfect Day
Genre: Drama
Released: January 15, 2016
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Eldar Residovic, Fedja Stukan, Mélanie Thierry, Olga Kurylenko

2016

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Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Ratings

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A Perfect Day (US)

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: January 15, 2016 | R

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Eldar Residovic, Fedja Stukan, Mélanie Thierry, Olga Kurylenko, Sergi López, Tim Robbins

Summary: It’s just another day on the job for a band of badass war zone rescue workers as they defy death and confront war’s absurdities. The setting is 1995, “somewhere in the Balkans.” Over the course of 24 breathless hours, Mambrú (Benicio del Toro), leads his team of humanitarians—including hard-bitten, wisecracking veteran B (Tim Robbins) andIt’s just another day on the job for a band of badass war zone rescue workers as they defy death and confront war’s absurdities. The setting is 1995, “somewhere in the Balkans.” Over the course of 24 breathless hours, Mambrú (Benicio del Toro), leads his team of humanitarians—including hard-bitten, wisecracking veteran B (Tim Robbins) and new recruit Sophie (Melanie Thierry)—as they deal with a most unexpected crisis, layers of bureaucratic red tape, and the reappearance of Mambrú’s old flame (Olga Kurylenko). Through it all, the group handles the less-than-glamorous realities of life in a combat zone the only way they know how: with selfless bravery and a healthy dose of irreverent humor. [IFC Films]… Expand

Director: Fernando León de Aranoa

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 106 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper

Jan 21, 2016

With an eclectic soundtrack that features...well-timed editing and crisp cinematography — and of course that terrific cast led by the great Del Toro — A Perfect Day is a rough-edged gem. Read full review

Stephen Whitty

Jan 13, 2016

Director de Aranoa keeps things moving, though, with a firm sense of pace and a rough, punk-edged soundtrack. Read full review

Amy Nicholson

Jan 12, 2016

A Perfect Day is a wry salute to the hard-drinking, eye-rolling aid workers of the world, men and women whose high ideals get crushed by global bureaucracy and local recalcitrance. Read full review

Clayton Dillard

Jan 10, 2016

The film finally seems conspicuously at odds with itself, neither funny nor impassioned enough to pass as an accomplished vision of transnational welfare. Read full review

The Guardian Henry Barnes

May 22, 2015

Inconsistency is A Perfect Day’s biggest problem. The script is scalpel sharp in some places, flabby as the well-blocker in others. Read full review

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

May 22, 2015

When the film gets going, it’s hard not to be bustled along with it, thanks mostly to León de Aranoa’s talent for punchy comic dialogue – doubly impressive, given this is his first English-language picture – and the plot’s habit of thwarting your expectations as to where the most morally upstanding course of action might lead. Read full review

Robert Abele

Jan 14, 2016

It suffers from a marked lack of narrative energy and a regrettable surfeit of clichéd characterization. Read full review

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User Reviews

LeZee

May 23, 2016

The day when an adventure for a rope begins.

This is an English language Spanish road-adventure that was adapted from a book. Takes place in the Yugoslavia during the end of its civil war. Other than that there's no detail about when and where it sets in or is it inspired by the realThe day when an adventure for a rope begins.

This is an English language Spanish road-adventure that was adapted from a book. Takes place in the Yugoslavia during the end of its civil war. Other than that there's no detail about when and where it sets in or is it inspired by the real story. Shot in the beautiful mountain roads and villages. The camera work was so good, I loved the aerial photography that revealed the beauty of those mountainous regions, despite the war atmosphere.

This is a surprise film, because I never heard it before and did not know what to expect from it, but in the end I'm very pleased with the overall product. That's what usually we want in a film than to follow a project from its announcement till it hit the screens, then sometimes we may end in a disappointment after the long wait. So I guess this is better.

A simple theme, but the plot developed into a greater venture. It revolves around a bunch of aid workers who were deployed to help in the war torn villages. When they find a dead body dumped in a well which is the main source for the drinking water in the region, they try to remove it. But it is not that simple, after failed in their first attempt, they look for another rope to pull the corpse out. So the adventure begins to revolve around one mission. In the remaining tale, it reveals theirs unpleasant events of the day, that's why it's called 'A Perfect Day'.

This is not a war movie, but with the backdrop of war the entire concept was developed. It is obviously a comedy-drama, and a very good film on this theme you would find at present. It does have a couple of intense scenes that push us to the edge of the seats. No nudes or the sex, no violence either, not even tortures or the deaths. Still, it is rated best suitable for adults only because of a few dialogues related to the sex. Other than that this film does not deserve uppercase r for the US market.

"Welcome to Konopac, the rope capital of the world."

The international cast was awesome for such a story. Individually, I liked everyone's performances, no one was lesser than the others among the lead characters. The only drawback was the underdeveloped characters, but that does not affect us the tale to entertain. They are not a medic team or any other similar kind, but very unusual characters that you have ever seen in a film. There's no physical stretch like they have done some tough stunt sequences, but they all quite beautifully exhibited their roles as the UN aid workers.

A single day tale, and the mix of both - realism and humours. Just depicted how a day of work would be in the places where it was devastated by war, especially representing the UNO and encountering problem for a simple matter. In addition to that, what happens when some old unresolved issues between two people reappear. All these were narrated very funnily, and sometime the fact of the war takes some of the scenes to the serious.

Like I said I enjoyed it a lot, and I believe it is capable to pull out another film to follow. Yep, like I always say when I like a film, I won't say no for a sequel to this. Because what the film characters accomplished in the end of the narration has looked to me just a beginning of another adventure. It might mean the loop in the tale to end on a high note, yet give an opportunity for another possible venture. I have no idea about the book, but it sounds good to me and I'll pray for it to happen. It was not a masterpiece, but a cute little film, which is kind of unpredictable and that's the its strength. I hope you all would give it a try, because it is worth it.

8/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

smiyamot

Oct 28, 2016

No matter how hard you try, good intentions are always punished. The ironic title is symbolic of the efforts of 4 people trying to do good during the war in the Balkans, but running into roadblocks, real and perceived. For people who have never worked for the Federal Government, you cannotNo matter how hard you try, good intentions are always punished. The ironic title is symbolic of the efforts of 4 people trying to do good during the war in the Balkans, but running into roadblocks, real and perceived. For people who have never worked for the Federal Government, you cannot believe how much this is like our daily jobs (rules, regulations, and management.) I had to give it extra points for that.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

DotTheEyes

Jan 23, 2016

A satiric drama set in war-torn Bosnia, A Perfect Day is a flawed, but entertaining film with an ironic title. Benicio Del Toro plays the head of security for a humanitarian organization. He is nearing the end of his latest tour when he is recruited to help remove an overweight corpse fromA satiric drama set in war-torn Bosnia, A Perfect Day is a flawed, but entertaining film with an ironic title. Benicio Del Toro plays the head of security for a humanitarian organization. He is nearing the end of his latest tour when he is recruited to help remove an overweight corpse from a well before it decomposes and contaminates a very important source of water. Assisted by a gregarious war-zone veteran (Tim Robbins) and a fresh-faced, idealistic Frenchwoman (Mélanie Thierry), he encounters problems both bureaucratic—a constipated, overly procedure-minded UN—and logistical—a scarcity of rope—over the course of a single day and night. The film avoids the chase sequences and gunfights often expected in a film set in a war- or genocide-plagued foreign land. It instead focuses on dry humor and melancholy slice-of-life drama, slicing open this highly specific ecosystem of expatriates, translators, roadside bombs, and refugee-camp sanitation problems. There is a well-researched ring to its peculiarity. Del Toro and Robbins deliver credible performances—one the brooding antihero, the other burly comic relief—and Thierry's turn as the inexperienced Gallic newcomer is charming and soulful.

The film does have a couple minor problems (an at times drowsy pace, a few arguably heavy-handed pop-music cues) and one sizable one: an extra member of the core ensemble played by Olga Kurylenko. She has a romantic history with the Del Toro character, and the film stalls every time they argue (she loved him, he did not tell her he was in another relationship), and she is never given much to do beyond be a source of frustration for one man and inspire horny, you-need-to-bed-her chauvinism in another. A particularly extended nighttime quarrel involving her in the third act almost soured my overall estimation of the film, but a perfectly staged ending renewed my admiration just in time.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

royphishooh

Jun 28, 2016

At least its not another pro-moslem propaganda flick like that Angelina Jolie garbage. Very good performances from Tim Robbins and Benicio del Toro are not spoiled by the dreadful acting of Melanie Thierry and the unbelievably awful Olga Kurylenko. The film is really about the futility ofAt least its not another pro-moslem propaganda flick like that Angelina Jolie garbage. Very good performances from Tim Robbins and Benicio del Toro are not spoiled by the dreadful acting of Melanie Thierry and the unbelievably awful Olga Kurylenko. The film is really about the futility of foreign involvement in civil wars. Worth a look.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

EpicLadySponge

May 17, 2016

Okay sure, A Perfect Day may not be perfect, it is saggy enough to not be perfect, but it lives up to another name to remind us how normal this movie is.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Jul 17, 2021

Les films « humanitaires » en général, j’aime pas trop… ça se confond toujours en pleurnicheries misérabilistes avec un agenda de social justice warriors à la godille et quelque discours moralisateur de derrière les ****

Et dans une certaine mesure, on n’y échappe pas ici alors que l’onLes films « humanitaires » en général, j’aime pas trop… ça se confond toujours en pleurnicheries misérabilistes avec un agenda de social justice warriors à la godille et quelque discours moralisateur de derrière les ****

Et dans une certaine mesure, on n’y échappe pas ici alors que l’on suit les difficultés des membres d’une ONG lors de la guerre des Balkans des années 90, juste au moment où les Casques Bleus contrôlent à peu près la situation. Enfin, à peu près.

Cela dit, le film ne manque certainement pas d’humour puisque le « scénario » si je puis dire, consiste à chercher une corde quasiment d’un bout à l’autre… du film. D’ailleurs, le ton satirique peut décontenancer ici et là, vu que par ailleurs comme dit plus haut, le drame pleurnichard n’est jamais loin… et pourtant, on aussi droit vers la fin à une explication sentimentale digne d’une sitcom à deux balles entre deux « humanitaires » au passé… commun.

On a aussi droit (oui, aussi) à quelques chansons de merde merdiques en guise de musique, une habitude détestable trop souvent utlisée au cinéma, il faut bien le dire. Néanmoins, la distribution est fort plaisante, bien utilisée et pas étrangère à cette drôlerie souvent cynique avec un Tim Robbins survolté !

Mais le mélange reste bien étrange entre cette ironie patente et les stigmates plus ou moins appuyés et illustrés d’un conflit sans foi ni loi (ou avec trop de foi sans doute…) qui a eu son lot d’atrocités peu conformes aux conventions de Genève…… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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