A Perfect Day (2015 film)

A Perfect Day
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Fernando León de Aranoa
Written by	Fernando León de Aranoa
Based on	Dejarse Llover by Paula Farias
Produced by	Fernando Leon de Aranoa Jaume Roures[1]
Starring	Olga Kurylenko Benicio del Toro Tim Robbins Mélanie Thierry
Cinematography	Alex Catalán
Edited by	Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Music by	Arnau Bataller
Production companies	Mediapro Reposado Producciones TVE
Distributed by	Universal Pictures[2]
Release dates	16 May 2015 (2015-05-16) (Cannes) 26 August 2015 (2015-08-26) (Spain)
Running time	106 minutes
Country	Spain
Languages	English Croatian Spanish Romanian

A Perfect Day is a 2015 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Fernando León de Aranoa. It is based on the novel Dejarse Llover by Paula Farias.^[3] It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and is the director's English-language debut.^[4][5]

Plot

Veteran humanitarian aid workers Mambrú (Benicio del Toro) and B (Tim Robbins), and newcomer Sophie (Mélanie Thierry), accompanied by their interpreter Damir (Fedja Štukan), try to retrieve a corpse from a well somewhere in former Yugoslavia at the end of the Yugoslav Wars.

Their first attempt fails because their rope tears, so they set out to find another rope, which turns out to be more difficult than expected. They are joined in their endeavor by Mambrú's former lover Katya (Olga Kurylenko) and a young local boy named Nikola.

Cast

• Benicio del Toro as Mambrú
• Tim Robbins as B
• Olga Kurylenko as Katya
• Mélanie Thierry as Sophie
• Fedja Štukan as Damir
• Eldar Residovic as Nikola
• Sergi López as Goyo

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 71% approval rating, based on 58 reviews. The consensus reads: "Aid workers get their due in A Perfect Day, which is just different and well-acted enough to overcome its logy pace and narrative clichés".^[6] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 59 out of 100, sampled from 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[7]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said that, the film is "a serviceable, watchable movie".^[8] Henry Barnes of The Guardian compared the film's humor to that of M*A*S*H,^[9] while Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly criticized female characters of Mélanie Thierry and Olga Kurylenko for being "disappointingly thin".^[10]

Awards and nominations

Awards	Category	Nominated	Result
III Premios Feroz[11]	Best Comedy		Nominated
	Best Director	Fernando León de Aranoa	Nominated
	Best Screenplay	Fernando León de Aranoa, with the collaboration of Diego Farias	Nominated
	Best Film Poster		Nominated
30th Goya Awards[12]	Best Film		Nominated
	Best Director	Fernando León de Aranoa	Nominated
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Fernando León de Aranoa	Won
	Best Supporting Actor	Tim Robbins	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Alex Catalán	Nominated
	Best Editing	Nacho Ruiz Capillas	Nominated
	Best Production Supervision	Luis Fernández Lago	Nominated
	Best Costume Design	Fernando García	Nominated

Benicio del Toro was presented with the honorary award, Heart of Sarajevo, at the Sarajevo Film Festival.^[13]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2015

References

1. Chang, Justin (16 May 2015). "Cannes Film Review: 'A Perfect Day'". Variety.
2. "A Perfect Day". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
3. Hopewell, John (12 March 2014). "Del Toro, Robbins, Kurylenko Set for Fernando Leon de Aranoa's 'A Perfect Day'". Variety.
4. "The Directors' Fortnight 2015 selection!". Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
5. Chang, Justin (21 April 2015). "Cannes: Directors' Fortnight Unveils 2015 Lineup". Variety.
6. "A Perfect Day (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
7. "A Perfect Day". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
8. Dargis, Manohla (14 January 2016). "Review: 'A Perfect Day' About Aid Workers in the Balkans". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
9. Barnes, Henry (16 May 2015). "A Perfect Day review - Del Toro and Robbins in imperfect aid work adventure". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
10. Nashawaty, Chris (15 January 2016). "'A Perfect Day': EW review". Entertainment Weekly.
11. Pérez Martín, María (9 December 2015). "'La novia' lidera las nominaciones a los Premios Feroz 2016". LosExtras (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 July 2021.
12. Rolfe, Pamela (14 December 2015). "'The Bride' Leads Spain's Goya Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
13. Barraclough, Leo (24 July 2015). "Benicio Del Toro to Receive Heart of Sarajevo Award at Film Festival in Bosnia". Variety.

External links

• Official site (German language)
• A Perfect Day at IMDb