Open Air review - A PERFECT DAY by Fernando Leon de Aranoa
FERNANDO LEON DE ARANOA and his take on the absurdity of war in his film A PERFECT DAY, which was one of the Open Air Screenings at the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival.
Set in the Balkans in 1995, as the Bosnian war was winding down, A PERFECT DAY by FERNANDO LEON DE ARANOA follows a group of humanitarian workers as they look for rope to lift the corpse of a man out of a well and purify the water. The task proves to be much more difficult than originally expected, thanks to UN stubbornness and opposition from some of the region who seize the opportunity to make some money by selling clean water.
The film embraces the absurdism of war, with a series of moments of brilliant poetic satire, most of which happens around the main characters - a local woman walking home with cows ahead of her to guard her from hidden landmines, a man who refuses to give the men the ropes as it holds up his flag and putting it down might be a matter of life and death in times of war. Ultimately, however, the soap operatic storyline and archetypal and sketchy characters, though portrayed by a strong international cast, lessen the impact of the admirable eclectic vision.
BENICIO DEL TORO's leader of the pack's internal struggles are very human, as he is torn between returning home to his girlfriend not due to his humanitarian vocation but more due to the fact that here, far from home, he gets to fool around with other pretty aid workers. One of these is French newcomer Sophie (MELANIE THIERRY), who is perhaps the sketchiest character of all, one minute shocked and horrified by her awakening to the corpses and landmines, the next casually and randomly flirting with DEL TORO. For his role as the reckless American, TIM ROBBINS delightfully returns to BULL DURHAM territory, while FEDYA STUKAN's translator is disappointingly relegated to the sidelines.