When two chalk-and-cheese sisters from Scotland (Eva Birthistle and Charity Wakefield) embark on a quixotic quest to visit Cuba to scatter their father’s ashes, the stage is set for a well-meaning but not entirely successful attempt to blend cross-cultural comedy with a romantic drama about discovering your roots.
It’s refreshing to see a film about two women that doesn’t focus entirely on their love lives, but that’s the limit of the cliché-busting; elsewhere, archetypes abound. You’ve got the uptight, right-on sister who needs to cut loose and find love. There’s a Cuban romeo who’s not to be trusted. The shallower sister is obsessed with fashion and nightclubs. And there’s a soulful, sensitive chap who embodies the true spirit of Cuba. As the narrative business with the ashes becomes increasingly convoluted, you’ll find yourself willing the titular day of the flowers – a Cuban national holiday, which gives the sister’s quest a deadline – to hurry up and dawn.