The Whistlers (film)

The Whistlers (Romanian: La Gomera) is a 2019 Romanian comedy crime thriller film directed by Corneliu Porumboiu and starring Vlad Ivanov. It premiered in competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3][4][5] It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[6][7]

The Whistlers
Film poster
Directed byCorneliu Porumboiu
Produced byMarcela Ursu
Written byCorneliu Porumboiu
StarringVlad Ivanov and Catrinel Menghia
CinematographyTudor Mircea
Edited byRoxana Szel
Production
company
42 Km Film
Komplizen Film
Les Films du Worso
mk2
Release date
  • 18 May 2019 (2019-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 13 September 2019 (2019-09-13) (Romania)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryRomania
France
Germany
LanguageRomanian
English
El Silbo
Spanish
Box office$808,743[1]

Plot

A police officer comes to the Spanish island of La Gomera to learn the language of El Silbo in order to free Zsolt, a controversial businessman arrested in Bucharest. When watching the film it is revealed that the timeline of the film is not chronological.

The real-time through chapters is following: 1. Szolt 2. Mama 3. Gilda 4. Kiko 5. Sylbo language 6. Pako 7. Magda 8. Cristi.[8]

Cast
  • Vlad Ivanov as Cristi
  • Catrinel Marlon as Gilda
  • Agustí Villaronga as Paco
  • Cristóbal Pinto as Carlito
  • Sergiu Costache as Toma
  • Antonio Buíl as Kiko

Production

The film was produced through the director's company 42 km Film in collaboration with France's Les Films du Worso and Germany's Komplizen Film, with mk2 handling the distribution sales.[2][9] Shooting took place in Romania and the Canary Islands.[10]

Release

The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[11] In May 2019, the film's UK distribution rights were sold to Curzon Artificial Eye,[12] and the US rights sold to Magnolia Pictures.[13]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 86 reviews, with an average rating of 7.15/10.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15] Reporting from the Cannes Film Festival, Jessica Kiang of Variety wrote that the film "is an enjoyable affair with just enough of a slant to feel a little offbeat", but it might leave fans of Porumboiu's previous films disappointed.[16] New York Times's A.O. Scott wrote that while the film is "an ingeniously structured, engaging and witty display of filmmaking skill," it "is Porumboiu’s most elaborate feature and in some ways his least ambitious".[17]

See also

References
  1. "The Whistlers (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. Goodfellow, Melanie (17 May 2017). "mk2 boards new Corneliu Porumboiu project 'Gomera'". Screendaily. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  3. "The 2019 Official Selection". Cannes Film Festival. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. Sharf, Zack (18 April 2019). "2019 Cannes Film Festival Lineup: Terrence Malick, Xavier Dolan, Almodóvar Compete for Palme d'Or". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  5. "The Screenings Guide 2019". Cannes Film Festival. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  6. "„La Gomera", în regia lui Corneliu Porumboiu, propunerea României pentru Oscar 2020". Libertatea. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  7. Barraclough, Leo. "Oscars: Corneliu Porumboiu's 'The Whistlers' Entered in International Feature Film Race". Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  8. "Director Corneliu Porumboiu shoots new film in Romania, Spain". Romania Insider. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  9. Dobroiu, Stefan (6 March 2018). "Corneliu Porumboiu shooting Gomera". Cineuropa. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  10. "Romanian film director Corneliu Porumboiu shoots for "Gomera" in Spain". The Romania Journal. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. "Cannes festival 2019: full list of films". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  12. Grater, Tom (2 May 2019). "Cannes Competition pair 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire', 'The Whistlers' land at UK's Curzon (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  13. McNary, Dave (24 May 2019). "Romanian Crime-Thriller 'The Whistlers' Bought for North America". Variety. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  14. "The Whistlers (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  15. "The Whistlers Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  16. Kiang, Jessica (18 May 2019). "Film Review: 'The Whistlers'". Variety. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  17. Scott, A.O. (26 February 2020). "'The Whistlers' Review: From Bucharest With Ambivalence". New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
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