THE WHISTLERS
A corrupt Romanian cop travels to the Canary Islands to learn an ancient whistling language as part of a comically elaborate heist in this wildly clever caper from Corneliu Porumboiu.
Combining the idiosyncrasies of the Romanian New Wave with the twists and flair of Soderbergh’s Ocean’s series, The Whistlers is one of the most surprising films from this year’s Cannes Film Festival competition. After being approached and seduced by the alluring Gilda (a fiery Catrinel Marlon), past-his-prime Romanian cop Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) becomes swept up in a complex scheme to free the femme fatale’s boyfriend from jail. Before Cristi can play his part, he must travel to the island of La Gomera in the Canaries to partake in a hilarious and involved training routine with hothead Kiko (Antonio Buíl) on the nuances of Silbo Gomero, the island’s native whistling language. The birdlike whistles allow criminals to openly communicate while avoiding suspicion and police surveillance. But when an irate drug lord looking for his vanished cash joins the fray, Cristi will have to do more than whistle to make it out of his exotic predicament alive. Subversive Romanian auteur and PFF Alum Corneliu Porumboiu (Infinite Football; Police, Adjective) weaves an offbeat, labyrinthine story, infusing elements of shaggy-dog noir and slick heist hi-jinks with his indescribable knack for wry humor to create a film that is not only utterly unique, but immensely entertaining.
CAST: VLAD IVANOV, CATRINEL MARLON, RODICA LAZAR, ANTONIO BUÍL
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