The Whistlers

Cristi is a seasoned Romanian policeman who also nurtures close, not to mention, illegal, ties with the local mafia. One day, Gilda, a mysterious young woman, recruits him for an unusual job with the intention of releasing her boyfriend from prison. She takes him to a faraway island to learn the “whistlers” language—a secret, centuries-old tongue, based on whistles. Cristi finds himself trapped between his suspicious police friends, the mafia, which has no intention of releasing Gilda’s boyfriend, and his feelings for the beautiful operator. Corneliu Porumboiu’s (Police, Adjective) new film is a pulsing, precise work that portrays the powerful, but delicate, relationship that slowly develops between these two unsuspecting lovers.