"One Day in Europe" is a comedy of cultural and linguistic misunderstanding that toys with the idea of a unified Europe, where everyone shares the same singular, unifying identity. Unlike many Americans, who proudly admit to being "American," Europeans — single currency and the EU notwithstanding — tend to hold steadfastly to their local individuality. The film suggests that soccer is the reason: Europe's love, nay obsession, for the game translates to a love for their locale and home teams.
The story begins the night Galatasaray plays Deportivo La Coruna in a fictitious Champions League Final in Moscow and divides into four episodes spanning four cities — Moscow, Istanbul, Berlin and Santiago de Compostela. Interestingly, none of the characters in any of the cities could care less about soccer and simply go about their lives while, in the background, crowds of fans march and chant on the streets.
Directed by Germany's Hannes Stohr, "One Day" isn't political, despite its frequent allusions to the EU and Europe's soccer religion. The leisurely storytelling and chuckle-inducing moments recall Jim Jarmusch's "Night on Earth" (1991), which also highlighted the difference of individuals, the humor spawned from miscommunication and a childlike delight in the vastness of the planet. Despite encroaching globalization, the world was large enough for any number of languages and all kinds of people, or so that movie's message seemed to read. Here, a similar feeling assails the senses: an all's-right-with-the-world sort of mood that's become increasing rare in contemporary cinema, where the prevailing emotions swing between sweet nostalgia and gnawing fear.