The Whistlers
One of the quotes on the poster for Corneliu Porumboiu’s “The Whistlers” likens the tone of the film to a Coen Brothers film, and while that sounds like a tall order, I can definitely see where they are coming from. It’s not quite as absurd as a “Burn After Reading” or “Fargo,” but it does feel along the lines of “Blood Simple,” a noir film that takes the genre seriously, but also adds a twist or two for good measure. From the opening scenes, we get the feeling that there’s more to this story than it’s letting on, and that extends to its structure, which is fragmented, but always relatively easy to follow. It’s a sly piece of entertainment.
We begin by following a meeting between Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) and Gilda (Catrinel Marlon), which has prying eyes on it, extending to the hotel room they go to, acting like she is a hooker, and they are spending the night together. Actually, correction- we begin as Cristi is taking a boat to one of the Canary Islands to meet Gilda and one of her associates. He is meeting them there to begin discussions on some criminal activity. The catch is that he is a cop. He’s working undercover as they try and nab a mob boss with a lot of drug money to lose. The plot is a bit convoluted, but that’s par for the course for this sort of crime story.
“The Whistlers” is all about following the narrative as it moves from present to past and back again, but it always comes back around to Cristi, whether it’s his relationship with Gilda, his mother, his dealings with his superior (Rodica Lazar), or Zsolt (Sabin Tambrea), a middle man the cops set up as a fall guy to help them catch the big fish involved with this case. Where does the title come from? The way the criminals have set up their communication is developing a whistling language that is indistinguishable to the whistling birds do. It’s a clever conceit that gives us a fun handful of scenes as Cristi tries to learn this language, which also involves him learning to whistle. The film as a whole is fun and breezes by on charm and personality, fueled primarily by the main performances by Ivanov and Marlon. “The Whistlers” is solid entertainment.
