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Jan 15, 2016 By Jason Wilson Web Exclusive

There is an outstanding scene at the center of A Perfect Day, a new film about foreign aid workers stationed somewhere in the Balkans. (The official setting is never revealed.) The scene follows Mambru (Benicio Del Toro) and his group as they travel to a devastated small town in search of rope. They need the rope to raise a heavy corpse from the bottom of a well to prevent contamination.

Mambru is led to the town by a young boy named Nikola. He tells them there is rope to be found at his home. They find more than rope. Inside the home, the roof has been blown to another land - likely by the neighbors, he tells Sophie (Melanie Thierry). A car packed with bags and ready to flee sits in the garage. Sophie opens the garage door and Mambru tells her not to turn around when he sees what’s out there. They get their rope. Nikola lives with his grandfather for a reason. The scene culminates with the song “Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson. Even if it feels tonally awkward, it’s a risk in a movie without too many.

There are a handful of scenes throughout A Perfect Day that give the impression that there was something meaningful to be mined from this subject matter. It is refreshing to see a film about war through the eyes of people other than soldiers. Sadly, the entire procession is undermined by one character. Katya (Olga Kurylenko) had a fling with Mambru years earlier and somehow gets assigned to their group after the first few scenes. It’s designed to add tension, but it derails the narrative.

B (Tim Robbins) is coarse but kind. He’s a veteran of overseas aid working and has probably been living the nomadic lifestyle a bit too long. At times he’s treated like a real character with nuance and depth. But like everyone else who comes in contact with Katya, he becomes a stereotype of wanton sexual humour. For B and Mambru, their humour usually masks their coping techniques. When it comes to Katya, it is borderline cruel or misogynistic. It’s not a problem if they are less than savory, but at least make them interesting and void of needless stereotypes.

If de Aranoa removed Katya entirely from the story and focused more on those established at the beginning, A Perfect Day could have worked. If the script was more focused and less vague – too many people settle for the “it’s just war, man” description, which, while maybe true, just doesn’t have a lot of heft to it. It’s frustrating how close this is to being a good movie. The pieces are there. The follow through isn’t.

Author rating: 5/10