Bad Day to go Fishing

Jacob van Oppen, a former champion of German wrestling, and his manager, the self-titled impresario Prince Orsini, make for an odd couple. Wrestling ‘shows’ and paid-off challenges is their game. As they set up in yet another desolate small town, with the intention of fleecing its inhabitants, their worst nightmare comes true. The hall for the event is rented, the posters plastered all over town, and Jacob’s challenger paid to take the fall. But the contestant of their choice gets himself pie-eyed drunk and ends up in the local prison. What follows is mayhem involving a local girl named Adriana and a 1000-dollar prize – money that never existed in the first place.

Legendary men facing their mortality, redemption and honor – all classical western themes - are given an unusual twist in, first time feature film director, Álvar Brechner’s play with genre conventions. Based on a short story by Juan Carlos Onetti, “Bad Day to Go Fishing” through its mix of pulp fatalism, slick lensing and cartoonish characters becomes a film that is part neo-Western, part film noir and part broad comedy.
SARAH PÅLVALL