Uruguayan Gem
A quietly powerful and touching film. Aside from giving North American viewers a rare and fascinating glimpse of a country (Uruguay) that has for so long languished in the shadow of bigger neighbors Argentina and Brazil, Whisky delivers an antidote to the photogenic violence and exoticized romance that in recent decades have tended to dominate both international distribution of Latin American cinema and (perhaps as a consequence) the North's perception of the region. At the same time, this impeccably acted and directed film offers a timely but low-key critique of the effects of the global economy on the kind of marginally poor--but not destitute or violent--people that comprise the majority of Latin America's inhabitants. The film does so without caving in to the demands of the market, which explains its slow pace and also its failure get nominated for an Oscar--a nomination it most certainly deserved.
A tour de force through the Uruguayan world.
Juan Pablo Rebella, the director of this movie, committed suicide on July 5th 2006, a couple of months after the big hit in Cannes. It seems to me, this movie was really his opera prima and terminal film at the same time. Extraordinary lethargic piece of art. Honest and simple, the two hardest thing to do in filmmaking. I only wish we could have enjoyed more of his work and talent. Descansa en Paz amigo Rebella.
Deadpan Uruguayan comedy is worth seeing
This droll, deadpan comedy from Uruguay, clearly influenced by directors such as Jarmusch and Kaurismaki, is a real find. Directors Rebella (who killed himself shortly after this film was released) and Stoll, tells the story of two middle aged Jewish brothers. The elder brother has remained in Uruguay, running a decrepit sock factory, and acts taciturn and resentful, feeling life has cheated on him. The younger, more easy going brother, has moved to Brazil, where he has raised a family and runs a succesful textile factory in the Sao Paulo area. When their mother dies, the brother in Brazil returns to Uruguay for the funeral. So that his younger brother will not pity him, his older brethren asks a middle aged, somewhat plump employee to pretend to be his wife when his brother returns (this plot point is not really very believable, but in the cinema you sort of accept it). There is little else plotwise to the movie, as the brothers and the fake wife tour some of the deserted, sunless...
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