The Whistlers | Rotten Tomatoes

The Whistlers

Released Feb 28, 2020

1 hr. 38 min.

Comedy

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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for The Whistlers: Trailer 1

List

83%

113 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

A Romanian police officer, determined to free from prison a crooked businessman who knows where a mobster's money is hidden, must learn the difficult ancestral language used on the island of Gomera.

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Critics Consensus

The Whistlers finds writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu working in a more crowd-pleasing vein than previous efforts, with thoroughly entertaining results.

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Steven

This film is entertaining but difficult to follow ask the characters

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/02/20

Full Review

Alec B

The ending doesn't really work but it is impressive that the movie takes such a wild concept and makes it convincing for the most part. The recurring jokes and references to the ubiquity of American cultural are a nice touch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

Full Review

andrei d

Gimmicky si prea grijuliu

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

witold r

Canary Islands, gloomy clay from Bucharest, secret and alluring beauty, gangsters versus the police, big cash to be taken, plus el silbo - whistled language and a disappointing finale - a Romanian remedy for black, with a lack of wit, crime fiction.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Critics seem to love this. The trailer made it look like an intriguing comedy-thriller. It is not. Don’t be swayed by all the raves about Romanian New Wave and deliberately deadpan delivery, pulp fiction etc. It has an interesting premise, but there is zero connection between the viewer and any of the characters, not any credible connection between the characters themselves. One character goes to an island to learn a whole new whistling language, only to use it for about two sentences in the whole film? And after a certain number of double-crossings, it begins to not matter who’s side anyone is on.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/12/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Nah. Not in the least. I don’t understand how any of these plot points connect, who the characters are, what they want, what the timeline is. None of this film makes sense. Nothing is at stake. Everyone knows everything. I’m so surprised that it has such good reviews. I think that people were amazed that an “avant-garde” filmmaker could make something so “traditional.”

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/04/21

Full Review

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Corneliu Porumboiu

Director

Vlad Ivanov

Cristi

Catrinel Marlon

Gilda

Rodica Lazar

Magda

Antonio Buil

Kiko

Agustí Villaronga

Paco

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The Whistlers: Trailer 1

1:53

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Nick Schager

Esquire Magazine

The director orchestrates his action with slippery subtlety and droll humor, and he continually surprises on his way to an expressively non-verbal finale of light and music.

Jan 27, 2021

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

It has such a playful attitude toward genre...absurd but quite genuine.

May 11, 2020

Full Review

Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Romanian film-maker Corneliu Porumboiu dispenses with the miserabilism associated with his country's cinema in this tart romp about a tangle of double crossings.

Rated: 4/5

May 10, 2020

Full Review

Chris Mello

In Review Online

Corneliu Porumboiu's The Whistlers is a tight, satisfying crime yarn - even if its small quirks and arthouse sheen sometimes get in the way of the good time its offering.

Jun 5, 2021

Full Review

Nick Levine

NME (New Musical Express)

Ultimately Porumboiu's film is a complex but concise succession of double bluffs, dubious deals and difficult-to-predict characters...

Rated: 4/5

May 11, 2021

Full Review

Kiko Vega

Espinof

A bizarre thriller full of brilliant ideas, absurd moments and well-timed outbursts of violence. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Mar 25, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

A Romanian police officer, determined to free from prison a crooked businessman who knows where a mobster's money is hidden, must learn the difficult ancestral language used on the island of Gomera.

Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
Screenwriter: Corneliu Porumboiu
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Film i Väst, Komplizen Film, Filmgate Films, Les Films du Worso, Studioul de Creatie Cinematografica, 42 Km Film, arte France Cinéma, WDR
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Romanian
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 28, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.1K
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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