Three Days of Fish is a humorous drama about an attempt to mend fractured family relationships, directed by Dutch filmmaker Peter Hoogendoorn.

Gerri returns to his hometown of Rotterdam to undergo medical checkups over three days and spend time with his middle-aged son, Dick. Their initial reserved encounter, marked only by a handshake, hints at many lost years between them. Instead of staying with his son, Gerri will spend his visit at the home of his stepdaughter, Nadia. Gerri and Dick became estranged during Dick’s childhood; after his parents' divorce and his mother’s death, Dick was raised by his grandparents. Attempting to atone for the past, Gerri spends most of his days with Dick, allowing him to tag along on his errands and appointments.

Three Days of Fish is something of a road movie, with father and son visiting various places and people, each trying in their own way to make the most of their time together. Gerri is disappointed in his son’s lifestyle and does not hesitate to criticize him, while the somewhat eccentric and outsider-like Dick tries, in his own way, to win over the father he clearly missed in his life. Their communication, sometimes explosive and sometimes imbued with subtle humor, stands in stark contrast to the ideal of unconditional fatherly love. Yet, the effort they put into their interactions ultimately becomes a form of love in itself. Gerri came to Rotterdam to settle his final accounts and he no longer looks to the past, while Dick cares little for himself and shows no interest in the future. Their conversations are simple and reserved, devoid of sentimentality, even though both, in their own ways, attempt to bridge the gap between them.

A particularly striking scene occurs when Gerri leaves his son a tooth extracted by a dentist—perhaps the only tangible thing Dick will have from the father he never truly had in his life. The three-day dynamic between father and son reaches its climax during their farewell, where it becomes evident that neither can find the right words. They seem to reach a silent conclusion that they should not judge one another and must accept the bittersweet reality of their relationship.

The film is shot in black-and-white, but without stark contrasts, relying instead on shades of gray. This choice not only highlights the gloomy atmosphere of Rotterdam but also underscores the relationship between father and son, where neither dominates despite their differing personalities. In addition to the film’s humorous moments, this seemingly gray drama is also elevated by its excellent music, sparingly used yet perfectly aligned with the film’s rhythm.

Special praise must also go to the casting. Ton Kas (Gerri) and especially Guido Pollemans (Dick) deliver brilliant performances, exuding a human authenticity that approaches a documentary-like realism.

Though the film is titled Three Days of Fish (likely a nod to the Balkan saying "Every guest is welcome for three days" or the Anglo-Saxon equivalent, "Guests, like fish, start to smell after three days"), the story portrays a father and son who, in a way, spend three days fishing for love from one another.