![]() For someone so effortlessly heroic, he comes off as a bit of an arse. “Nobody wears black panties to a war zone,” growls B appreciatively as Kurylenko’s character is forced to pee in public. ![]() Neither are allowed to do much that challenges the assumed dominance of the older, gnarlier men. Kurylenko’s character, an ex- of Mambrú’s who’s auditing the team, is a nag Thierry is is a wimp. ![]() Del Toro and Tim Robbins (playing a wily tomcat lifer called B) have fun with the sparkier bits of dialogue, even if their rapport crushes any hope of co-stars Olga Kurylenko and Mélanie Thierry making a dent. The dynamic between the team members is a little more elegant. The drama is so over-cooked it bubbles out of the pot. In the aftermath of the team finding a body swinging from a tree in the back garden of a bombed-out house, de Aronoa cranks out Marilyn Manson’s cover of Sweet Dreams Are Made of This. The lurches in tone are brutal, accompanied by crass soundtrack choices that emphasise the jolt. But De Aronoa doesn’t have Altman’s poise and he struggles to straddle comedy and tragedy. Like M*A*S*H it makes sport of the neutered dreams of those who sign up to help and find themselves blocked by protocol. Del Toro proves yet again that he is a fascinating screen presence, and the message is strong enough to warrant a watch.Like Michel Hazanavicius’s The Search before it, A Perfect Day is a tribute to the tenacity of men and women who risk their safety to spend their time feeling frustrated and useless. The specific use of multiple songs is at times distracting, and other times a perfect match (Lou Reed, The Buzzcocks). Oh yes, Katya and Mumbru are former lovers and it obviously didn't end well.Īs they work their way through the ropes challenge and the threat of land mines, we learn through the actions of Mumbru that no matter how much one wants to help, it's only natural (and sometimes painful) to ask yourself if you are truly making a difference, or simply wasting time in a place filled with people who don't seem to care. Soon enough they are joined by a local youngster named Nikola (Eldar Reisdovic) and an inspector Katya (Olga Kurylenko) sent to determine if the Aid program should continue. His cowboy approach is in distinct contrast to the veteran Mambru and the idealistic rookie Sophie. It's understandable that a group in this situation would utilize humor to offset the ugliness, and there is no shortage of one-liners and wise-cracks, especially from B (Robbins). Searching for rope may seem a flimsy story center, but on their journey, we get to know these characters, some of the local cultural differences (in regards to dead bodies), the bureaucratic red tape faced, and the always present danger faced by do-gooders from the outside. Most of the movie revolves around their quest to find a rope so they can hoist the large corpse from the water. Benecio Del Toro (Mambru), Tim Robbins (B), Melanie Thierry (Sophie) and their interpreter Fedja Stukan (Damir) are facing a short deadline in order to save the well from contamination for local villagers. The corpse in a drinking water well is the immediate challenge facing the aid workers. Based on the novel by Paula Farias and adapted by Diego Farias and director Fernando Leon de Aranoa, the film follows a group of Aid Across Borders workers as they make their way through the community, attempting to navigate the cultural and political challenges to offering assistance. ![]() "Somewhere in the Balkans, 1995" is the notice we receive in the opening frame, and the post Kosovo War setting is less about fighting a war and more about finding humanity in the aftermath. SPOILER: Greetings again from the darkness. Reviewed by ferguson-6 6 / 10 We need rope
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