It is based on the 2003 novel A Perfect Day by Richard Paul Evans. And the old father might cling to his life, even though he is sitting alone in the dark forest and pointing a gun at himself.A Perfect Day is a 2006 American made-for-television drama film directed by Peter Levin and written by Joyce Eliason. But in the image of young father and son, basking in the waning sunlight there’s some hope. This one particular afternoon in Herman, Nate, and Ralph’s life might not change their perception totally. There’s lots of inter-generational trauma and inheritance in the form of physical disabilities. One father self-doubts his ability to take care of his son, whereas another father comes to terms with his guilt in failing to protect his son. Herman carries it with him as if that box is literally his emotional baggage of being an absentee father.Ī Perfect Day for Caribou uses a simple narrative set-up to contemplate different aspects of human life. Nate gives Herman a box that he found in his mom’s home with his dad’s name on it. This sets off an unusually long stroll through the wilderness. After a while, Herman and Nate notice that Ralph has run off somewhere. Of course, the father and son maintain a stoic facade, still wary of showing each other their vulnerability. They talk about trivial things before moving to confess the emotions and conflicts that are ailing them. Like any rendezvous between an estranged parent and child, the bridge of conversation is tentatively built above the stream of uncomfortable silence. But the initial communication between the father and son is anything but awkward. We gradually learn the details of Nate’s life and about his failing marriage or the anxiety of being a young father. The kid wanders around the cemetery, stuck in his own world without the means to express himself. Ralph suffers from a kind of disability that’s yet to be diagnosed. Nate now works as a janitor in the same school he went to. Nate arrives at the cemetery, accompanied by his little son, Ralph (Oellis Levine). It’s been more than a decade since their last meeting. Herman suddenly receives a call, surprisingly it is Nate aka Nathaniel. That heaviness of memory and words (our own personal history) is deeply felt throughout Herman’s fragmented narration and later too. For instance, Herman talks about the instance when his wife wanted to ‘set him on fire for cheating’, which is followed by an image of a burning figure. Sometimes it’s not even a memory, but words that have metamorphosed into a visual, thanks to one’s own imagination. The memory image is also as static as the character’s reality. Herman’s verbal recollections are visually interrupted by an image or two from his memory. It’s how Herman recalls his life experiences through seemingly random events, pertaining to his own abusive father, a failed marriage, his newfound predilection for making paintings, and the Caribou. The way we express ourselves in such occasions can be very scattershot. The human mind works in odd ways, especially when it’s burdened by loneliness and depression. Jeff Rutherford establishes his minimalist and tad quirky narrative framework, while Herman delivers his taped monologue.
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