If war is hell, then A Perfect Day is what happens when hell runs out of bullets and has to deal with red tape instead. Fernando León de Aranoa’s 2015 film follows a ragtag group of aid workers in the Balkans as they navigate absurdity, bureaucracy, and an ever-elusive rope to retrieve a dead body from a well. The result? A film that is funny, dark, and almost as frustrating as trying to get decent customer service from your internet provider.
A Brief, Bloody, and Bizarre History
The film is based on Dejarse Llover (Let It Rain), a novel by Paula Farias—who, by the way, is an actual humanitarian worker. That means A Perfect Day doesn’t romanticize war but presents it as it often is: less about bullets whizzing past your head and more about meetings, miscommunication, and misplaced idealism. León de Aranoa, known for his sharp takes on human resilience (Mondays in the Sun), took this grimly comedic approach to heart, delivering a film that mocks the chaos of war without disrespecting its tragedy.
When it debuted at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight section, it received a five-minute standing ovation (or ten minutes, depending on who’s holding the stopwatch). But despite its warm festival reception, A Perfect Day remained a sleeper hit, appreciated by those who like their war films with a side of existential crisis.
Cast, Corpses, and a Lot of Rope
Benicio del Toro leads the charge as Mambrú, a man who looks like he’s seen too much and slept too little. His right-hand man, Tim Robbins as B, is the unhinged comic relief—imagine your weird uncle who’s lived through five divorces but still finds a way to laugh at life. Mélanie Thierry plays Sophie, the earnest newbie who hasn’t yet learned that optimism is a liability in war zones. Olga Kurylenko arrives as Mambrú’s ex-lover, because what’s a war movie without unresolved sexual tension?
Production-wise, A Perfect Day was shot in Spain, standing in for the Balkans, because nothing screams “former Yugoslavia” like the Spanish countryside. The film’s biggest challenge wasn’t the war-torn setting, but the central plot device: a corpse stuck in a well. Turns out, nothing in war is simple, not even removing a dead body—especially when NATO, the UN, and local warlords all have conflicting opinions on how (or whether) it should be done.
The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent
Critics were divided, as critics tend to be when presented with a war movie that doesn’t involve rousing speeches or a Hans Zimmer score. Some called it brilliant, others called it meandering. The Guardian likened its humor to MASH*, which is the kind of comparison that only people over 50 understand. The New York Times labeled it “serviceable and watchable,” which is the film-review equivalent of calling someone “nice.” Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly complained that the female characters were “disappointingly thin,” which is ironic coming from a publication that once described a Michael Bay film as “thrilling.”
Commercially, A Perfect Day didn’t exactly storm the box office, but let’s be real—movies about bureaucracy and dead bodies don’t tend to outsell superhero flicks. Its legacy, however, has grown, thanks to its sharp humor, strong performances, and the kind of nihilistic comedy that makes former Peace Corps volunteers nod knowingly.
A Rope, a Dead Guy, and the Meaning of It All
A Perfect Day isn’t a war movie; it’s a war experience. It doesn’t care about good guys and bad guys—it cares about the absurd, soul-crushing logistics of cleaning up after them. It’s smart, biting, and full of dry humor, like if Catch-22 got drunk on Balkan moonshine and decided to become a film.
Is it perfect? No. But neither is war. And that’s the point.
Would you rather be in an actual war zone or stuck on hold with an airline customer service rep for six hours? Think carefully.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
#AidWorkerProblems #WarIsHell #DeadMenTellNoTales #AndNeitherDoTheyGetOutOfWells
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