The Whistlers (2019)

A policeman is intent on freeing a crooked businessman from a prison in Romania. He travels to Gomera, an island in the Canaries, where he must first learn the difficult local dialect, a language which includes hissing and spitting.

Director:

Corneliu Porumboiu

Writer:

Corneliu Porumboiu

Stars:

Vlad Ivanov, Catrinel Marlon, Rodica Lazar

2 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Vlad Ivanov	...	Cristi
Catrinel Marlon	...	Gilda
Rodica Lazar
Agustí Villaronga	...	Paco
Sabin Tambrea
István Teglas
Cristóbal Pinto	...	Carlito
Antonio Buíl	...	Kiko
George Pistereanu	...	Alin
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Agranov	...	Denis
Andrei Barbu	...	Turist on farryboat
Andrei Ciopec	...	Criminalist
Sergiu Costache	...	Toma
Andrew A. Popescu	...	Liviu (as Andrei Popescu)
Julieta Szönyi	...	Mama

Storyline

Cristi, a Romanian police officer who is a whistle blower for mafia, is going to La Gomera Island to learn an ancestral whistling language. In Romania he is under police surveillance and by using this coded language he will continue to communicate with the mobsters to get Zsolt out of prison. Zsolt is the only one who knows where 30 millions of euros are hidden.

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Plot Keywords:

canary islands | police detective | policeman | police officer | police | 

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Taglines:

Loyalty is not their language.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

Romania France Germany Sweden

Language:

Romanian English Spanish

Release Date:

28 February 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Whistlers

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$526,503

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Worso, Les Films du Worso, Les Films du Worso

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Die Moritat von Mackie Messer
written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
performed by Ute Lemper

User Reviews

First Hit: I was, and even a day later, confused by this story and film.

First Hit: I was, and even a day later, confused by this story and film.

We're really introduced to Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) and Gilda (Catrinel Marlon) when Gilda walks up to Cristi and asks to speak with him in his apartment. Cristi whispers into her ear that he apartment is bugged, so she kisses him and tells him she'll play the part of a hooker, and they can whisper her request, which is to help her by getting a criminal, Zsolt, out of prison.

In an early scene, Cristi is on a ferry heading to an island where the ancient people use to communicate by whistling. Cristi is part of a plot working with other criminals to free Zsolt and to do this he has to learn the whistling language.

The language breaks vowels and consonants into seven whistling sounds. This lesson in this language was the most exciting part of the film. I was fascinated with Cristi learning how to whistle and wanted to practice, along with him, right in the theater.

As the film develops, some parts led me to believe that the story in the movie was pre-planned, and I missed something as the film progressed. At other times, I felt as though Cristi and Gilda were planning the ending along the way because they'd fallen for each other.

As an undercover detective, Cristi works for an unnamed woman place by Rodica Lazar, who is trying to play both ends of this story.

The result is a film that has the appearance of a storyline running at two different levels, but in the end, the person sitting next to me asked if he missed something about how the ending worked out, I said "I don't know," and I still don't.

Ivanov was quietly compelling as the detective who was also on the take. Marlon was excellent as the woman who seemed totally in control of story behind the plot. Lazar was strong as the head of the investigation and also susceptible to corruption. Corneliu Porumboiu wrote and directed this quizzical story that left me hanging.

Overall: I either missed a critical section of this Romanian film or the story was attempting to be too elusive.