Oliveira's dream-like semi-documentary reenacts the final hours of Doomed Love author Branco, believed by many to be Portugal's equivalant to Cervantes. Considered by Oliveira scholar Randal Johnson as one of the director's finest and least appreciated works, Day of Despair closely follows Branco's writing process and speculates about the relationship between the author's private monologue and written word. Oliveira carefully weighs each of the acts and gestures leading up to Branco's tragic and still unexplained death, searching for clues and discovering a rich poetry of ambient sounds and evocative textures.