If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (2010)
"Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier" (original title)

Two weeks before his release, a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern.

Director:

Florin Serban

Writers:

Catalin Mitulescu, Florin Serban,

Stars:

George Pistereanu, Ada Condeescu, Mihai Constantin

16 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
George Pistereanu	...	Silviu
Ada Condeescu	...	Ana
Mihai Constantin	...	Penitenciary Director
Clara Voda	...	Mother
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Laurentiu Banescu	...	The Professor
Cosmin Padureanu	...	Gardian #2

Storyline

Silviu, a young man who has spent years in a youth penitentiary, is granted release. Before he can leave, his mother returns to Romania to bring his little brother to Italy with her, despite Silviu's objections. He meets a young woman, Ana, who is working on a research project in the prison, and becomes interested in her. In his desperation Silviu resorts to violence, and Ana becomes his hostage.

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Plot Keywords:

student | teenager | penitentiary | dormitory | escape from prison | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [ro]

Country:

Romania Sweden Germany

Language:

Romanian

Release Date:

26 March 2010 (Romania)

Also Known As:

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,999 (USA) (7 January 2011)

Gross:

$12,135 (USA) (11 February 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strada Film, Film i Väst, Chimney Pot, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was shortlisted for the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Picture, but did not make the final selection.

User Reviews

A minimalistic, yet strong emotional shock-wave

A visual artist knows that adding a little dot of light in the iris could change the whole portrait or even ruin the initial intention. Not adding the right dot, could have the same effect. Finding THAT balance, something needed in everything we do! That balance is written all over this movie! One reviewer from Romania is fed up with "movies about low-end society family problems". I don't know if Romanians make only such movies but this one is certainly not about Romania. And here the balance I was talking about becomes clear: a simple, personal tragedy may look unimportant to others but to the one who is tormented by it, it becomes life itself. The whole movie is feeding on this sentence, if I may say so. It dictates the filming and editing style (kudos for editing!), the choice of characters, dialog (probably improvised) and everything else. The movie is quiet (almost no soundtrack, very long minutes of no dialog, long takes) and yet the tension and ugliness of the personal horror could deafen someone. The hand held camera is also barely noticeable (someone was complaining about it), far from a Dogma head ache. This slight shake is a reminder the story is not a studio pose but a live action. The theme could be illustrated in many other ways, and it's been done before, probably because the theme is so human and unfortunately forever recurrent. But what impressed me the most is the movie as a whole. The film maker, if I can make him "responsible" for the result, must be a very elegant man, in terms of manners. A man that doesn't shout out his empathy but presents it on a silver tray. Bravo!