A Perfect Day

2015 1h 46m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

70%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 701🍅70%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 24,535

ComedyDramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Somewhere in the Balkans, 1995. A team of aid workers must solve an apparently simple problem in an almost completely pacified territory that has been devastated by a cruel war, but some of the local inhabitants, the retreating combatants, the UN forces, many cows and an absurd bureaucracy will not cease to put obstacles in their way.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Benicio del Toro
Mambrú
Tim Robbins
B
Olga Kurylenko
Katya
Mélanie Thierry
Sophie
Feđa Štukan
Damir
Eldar Rešidović
Nicola
Sergi López
Goyo
Nenad Vukelić
Nikola's Grandfather

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fernando León de Aranoa
Writers: Fernando León de Aranoa, Diego Farias
Languages: Serbian, English, Spanish, French, Bosnian
Countries: Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Serbian, English, Spanish, French, Bosnian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, shot by Álex Catalán. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arnau Bataller. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nacho Ruiz Capillas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Benicio del Toro and Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3577624 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fernando León de Aranoa directs. Álex Catalán behind the camera. Arnau Bataller scores. Nacho Ruiz Capillas cuts. Produced in Spain. Dialogue in Serbian, English, Spanish, French, Bosnian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Serbian, English, Spanish, French, Bosnian.
3Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, shot by Álex Catalán. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arnau Bataller. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Nacho Ruiz Capillas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Benicio del Toro and Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt3577624 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Álex Catalán
Original score: Arnau Bataller
Editing: Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Production design: César Macarrón
Makeup / hair: Caitlin Acheson
VFX supervisor: Ferrán Piquer
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,702,433
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Perfect Day (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 60/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 24,535 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

4 wins & 24 nominations total

Also by

Fernando León de Aranoa

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-05-23
★ 8/10
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 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
write2topcat2018-03-03
★ 8/10
Imagine you're on a small team of humanitarian aid workers sent to help the people of Yugoslavia toward the end of that awful civil war which saw Serbian and Muslim neighbors killing each other. Remember that 1990s war and all the sectarian violence? Well this film follows such a team as they seek to help displaced people survive as the peace talks bring the conflict to an end. Tim Robbins plays a worker who goes by the letter "B" throughout the film. He and Mambru (Benicio Del Toro) are veteran aid workers and are breaking in a rookie named Sophie (Melanie Thierry). Together with their interpreter, a man named Damir (Fedja Stukan) they work at keeping the basic necessities of life, such as clean water, available to the displaced people of the war torn country. I believe this film is an adaptation of a real life account of an aid worker. It shows the maddening interference of bureaucracy as it prevents them performing their tasks, and the delicacy with which they must navigate around the warring factions. A documentary might convey these things as well, but would not entertain or hold your attention as this quality cast does.