A Perfect Day (2016)

I found this movie very vell made. It helps yuo reflecting about absurdity of war. Some scenes are very touching others make you laugh. Great interpretation by Robbins and Del Toro. I suggest you to watch it! It's different from usual films, very original, few speech, great deepness. I wanted it lasted more...

This was a guilty pleasure to watch. I could put myself in Benicio Del Toro's situation, in a war zone as peace starts to erupt, accompanied by Olga Kurylenko and Melanie Thierry, both unusually attractive women. The temptation is to make the movie about that close encounter, but, though there is some flirtation, the movie is far more serious than that. And besides there are other men in the party.This is about the war in the Balkans in 1995 and what it was like on the ground for humanitarian workers. It pretty much captures the reality better than any documentary could ever hope to. What a difficult circumstance in which to try to work where something as simple as obtaining a rope or navigating around a dead cow seems almost impossible. All the supporting players do the material justice though I particularly liked Melanie Thierry's and Tim Robbin's performances. Del Toro is at the center of the action and he makes it a pleasant experience.Given what's shown of the people, it seems it would be a futile task to try to intervene. Even the humanitarian effort depicted had only limited success in its simple objective, imagine trying to intervene at the peak of the war!

Characters & Story (with Commentary)It all begins, and ends, with a dead body in a well. Mambru (Benicio Del Toro) and Damir (Fedja Stukan) tried to get it out, but their rope breaks. Sophie (Mélanie Thierry) makes it a huge thing when they return to the UN base, and with her getting rebuffed comes her pushing the others of her group to go against orders. So everyone, including B (Tim Robbins) a grade-A eccentric, head off to find a rope.But, with this rope journey comes Nikola (Eldar Residovic), a child who lost their ball to bullies who Mambru feels sorry for, and then Katya (Olga Kurylenko). Now, while Nikola's part in this story isn't necessarily huge, nor Katya when I think about it, both are perhaps the only reason Mambru isn't forgettable. For while Sophie is identifiable by how passionate she is about the locals having clean water, and B is memorable for how out there he is, the other two are a bit dull. Though Nikola and Katya change that. Nikola shows Mambru has a soft side and with Katya, while we know Mambru has a reputation, as well as a girlfriend, Katya, sadly, helps push the idea he is some sort of reformed man.Leaving us with a film which sort of presents the idea that humanitarian aid workers come in all shapes, sizes, and bring their own unique sense of drama. HighlightsAs individuals, I must admit both B and Sophie are intriguing enough that it almost makes you wish this film was just about those two. B would be the one who is willing, and mentally able, to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and Sophie may be reluctant to follow B's methods, but since red tape and "No" don't go well with her sense of justice, she goes along with it. To me, that would have been interesting and paired with us getting to know their history and journey, it could have made for a decent film. Low Points>The film ends and begins at a well and it bugs me out a little bit for that is all this 1 hour and 46-minute movie is about. They are searching for a rope, and then they throw in some mentions of Mambru's love life. Which, even with damn near every supporting character doing her best to make him seem interesting, it just doesn't work.>The lack of commentary was a bit disappointing to me. There isn't much said about the war in the Balkans, much less how much difficulty they had being aid workers in the region. Instead, as noted, we get a bit of relationship drama and watch the group search for rope.>I was left wondering why any of the cast, besides Sophie, wanted to become aide workers? For while there is downtime here and there, there isn't much of an attempt to allow us to get to know the characters. We don't get to see why they would go into an area filled with mines that could easily kill them, we aren't given the chance to understand why, likely for years, they have been aid workers, much less, while it is clear that everyone knows everyone, there isn't any epic story between them which really makes them seem like the type of group who would stick their neck out for one another. If anything, they just seem like they were assigned together, witnessed or heard somethings, and just pick on one another most of the time. Which, for what I know, could be how things are, but it made for a bleh viewing experience.>I did not understand, for the life of me, how taking a child, Nikola, and keeping him for about a day, made any sense to Mambru? They are in an area in which the military still has a strong presence, and people are still being murdered and illegally detained, there is always the chance that between their convoy, or the UN base, they could have been attacked and, lastly, what Mambru did damn near looks like a kidnapping. Something Katya says and while it is good Nikola's grandfather doesn't flip out, considering the murder, and likely kidnappings, in the area, it makes the film all seem too convenient. Be it the Nikola situation, or everything else that happens.Final Thought(s): Skip ItSometimes I have quite a difficult time deciding between what to skip and what to just lump into TV Viewing, and then there are films like this. One which, as much as it has potential in some areas, I find myself more so finding things to pick over than to praise. Leaving me without much of a, "yeah this and this may suck, but this compensates for that immensely." Which is something I can't say with this film. There is nothing really within this film to compete with its shortcomings, thus leaving me thinking this film isn't worth your time and whatever effort it would take to see this film. For despite, on paper, potentially being interesting, it fails to pick up on any topic which could have been a bright point. Be it a child's point of view of the war, witnessing the lives of aid workers, or even making this into the type of adventure which, yes, may have been about something as simple as getting a rope, but at least had the type of characters who made a simple journey worth following.

A compelling story begins with a simple event that becomes a complex masterpiece. "A Perfect Day" opens as a group of aid workers in the war torn Balkan region struggle to pull a dead corpse out of the village well before the rotting flesh poisons the water. When their only rope breaks and the body falls back down the well, the team leader Mambru (Benicio Del Toro), his garrulous friend, B (Tim Robbins), the novice aid worker, Sophie (Melanie Thierry), and the local translator, Damir (Fedja Stukan) must drive through the countryside searching for another rope. Disheartened by ridiculous peace protocols, hostile natives, and invisible landmines, they find their only salvation is to act humanly in the present rather than cling to their past beliefs or live for their future dreams. Olga Kurylenko (Katya) and Eldar Residovic (Nikola) round out the cast.