Day of the Flowers
Day of the Flowers
| 29 November 2013 (USA)
Day of the Flowers Trailers

Two young, strong-willed Scottish sisters, one a left-wing activist, the other a most-popular-girl-in-school type, take their late father's ashes to Cuba, the site of many family legends of his services to the Revolution. Arriving in Havana, the two women promptly lose the ashes and go through a series of misadventrues - both romantic and dangerous - to try to retrieve them. A colourful and wryly humourous tale of cross-cultural misunderstandings and lost illusions.

Reviews
Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
lezumbalaberenjena I don't remember ever seen a movie filled with so many stereotypes of what modern Cubans are under the present circumstances (socialism and poverty). I honestly wish this script had been passed onto a Cuban writer before filming.Though some characters would behave and speak like some of the people in the film, most Cubans don't. There is no such thing as a "Day of the flowers" in the island. We do put flowers in rivers the day Camilo Cienfuegos died, but is something only students do, and certainly (for God's sake!) is no occasion where you see people following after with drums and trumpets like in a conga line, like in a street carnival or so.This is basically a road trip type of film with no road trip at all (except of course the relationship between the sisters, which is the only thing that does not suck in this movie). The entire flick has been filmed in Havana city, not only that, in it's worse looking neighbourhoods and most dilapidated streets and houses (yet another stereotype of how Cuba looks like). Havana does not look like that entirely. And while the trip is suppose to take us to northern Matanzas, then south center into Cienfuegos and Trinidad, like I mentioned before is only filmed in the capital. And I can not think of cities that are landscaped and architecturally built more different from one each other than those 4.PS: Cuban crocodiles only live in restricted portions of Zapata swamp and southern cays, no way they simply spotted one in the middle of the countryside near Matanzas city.I really felt extremely offended by entire thing from beginning to end.
commodityblaze Day of the Flowers is an exciting and engaging film about two sisters taking their father's ashes to Cuba. At first it would appear that the sisters are complete polar opposites, Rosa the politico and Alli the fashionista, as the story unfolds we see that underneath the sisters are more alike than they realise. The story unfolds in Cuba which provides a stunning backdrop. "Day of the Flowers" allows us to glimpse the darker side of Cuba as well as the touristic, I found this very refreshing. The characters are well thought out and developed and beautifully acted, especially Rosa - Eva Birthiste, Alli - Charity Wakefield and Thomas-Carlos Acosta. We get to see human nature in all it's complexities. The mix of the exotic and neurotic makes "Day of the Flowers" a feel good movie, I left the cinema wanting more and with a curiosity to find out what the next chapter holds for the sisters and Thomas. I would highly recommend this film to everyone, go see it and enjoy the visual feast.
juliaparr2007 A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to see 'Day of the Flowers' and arrived with no idea of what to expect, the word CUBA however never fails to set up a frisson of excitement and I was not disappointed in the slightest by this super mix of Scottish and South American culture and characterisation. Indeed, in retrospect I can see that it was a perfect feisty and amusing match,the acting was sensitive,credible and each part played with skill which reeled the audience in to the story perfectly. Artistic filming and some lovely detail (the horses for example?) and enough music and dance to whet my appetite - although I could have watched Carlos Acosta and the bands for a very long time given the opportunity. It was vibrant and fun - I didn't leave feeling emotionally drained; just happy! I wonder if there may be a sequel lurking in the writer's mind? Ailie should surely get back to her roots one of these days!!! jx
qwertynorris One of the selections from the Edinburgh Film Festival's 'best of the fest' which you hope was based on initial ticket sales & not critical response - otherwise you would worry about the quality of this years output. Whilst it's nice to see a Cuban backdrop in a narrative drama, it doesn't really compensate for some shockingly bad writing & uninspired direction - which is particularly evident in having all the characters constantly think out loud (the first 10 minutes in this regard are absolutely appalling). The performances too are largely unconvincing, with Eva Birthistle (very good in Loach's 'Ae Fond Kiss') struggling immensely with a hugely unsympathetic idiot of a protagonist, whose every solution to a problem seems to solely involve walking out of a scene that lapses more than 2 minutes. Still, her turn is award-worthy compared to the amateurish showings by her supposed sister & her constant kilt-wearing cypher of a friend. Well intended it might be, but it can thank the Cuban cast & the work done by the unit directors to lift it above the tragic threshold.