A Perfect Day

Fifteen years after her husband disappeared (during Lebanon’s Civil War), Claudia (Kassar) hesitates to sign the documents that will pronounce him dead and therefore free up both herself and her son Malek to get on properly with the future; Malek, meanwhile, tired of his mum’s reluctance, offers her little support, since he’s preoccupied in his search around Beirut for a girlfriend who in turn seems tired of him… Not a lot happens, plotwise, in this delicate but haunting study of a society wracked by guilt, fear, pain and confusion; it’s enough simply to soak up the fine performances, the carefully maintained mood, and the elegant, subtly telling imagery.