Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- offbeat
- tense
- crime movie night
- arthouse thriller evening
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an entertaining, witty, ingeniously structured, and more crowd-pleasing crime thriller, while noting its relative lack of ambition compared with Porumboiu's earlier work.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Cristi travels to La Gomera to learn an ancestral whistling language for communicating with mobsters under police surveillance.
The story distributes revelations across non-linear segments and competing criminal and police perspectives.
The film moves between Romanian surveillance spaces and the distinctive island landscape while embracing stylized neo-noir presentation.
The Romanian police and mafia plot extends through La Gomera and involves multiple European criminal collaborators.
Films like The Whistlers, and why
The Guard
offbeat crime plotting, deadpan humor, and stylized neo-noir atmosphere
The Nice Guys
ingenious criminal schemes, eccentric characters, and witty genre revisionism
A Prophet
European crime intrigue, coded communication, and playful formal construction
In Bruges
morally slippery characters, black humor, and elaborate neo-noir storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- Corneliu Porumboiu
- Release Date
- 2019-09-13
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (186)
Cast
- Catrinel Marlon
- Vlad Ivanov
- Rodica Lazăr
- Sabin Tambrea
- Antonio Buíl
- Agustí Villaronga
- István Téglás
- George Piștereanu
- Julieta Szönyi
- Cristóbal Pinto
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Cinemax Amazon Channel, Klassiki, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Whistlers about?
- A Romanian detective learns an ancient whistling language to navigate surveillance, betrayal, and a labyrinthine island-bound money heist.
- What is The Whistlers like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Whistlers as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Whistlers violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Whistlers as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Whistlers?
- Critics broadly found the film an entertaining, witty, ingeniously structured, and more crowd-pleasing crime thriller, while noting its relative lack of ambition compared with Porumboiu's earlier work.
- Which films are like The Whistlers?
- Films with a similar feel include The Guard, The Nice Guys, A Prophet, and In Bruges.
- How long is The Whistlers?
- The Whistlers runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Whistlers?
- In United States, The Whistlers streams on Cinemax Amazon Channel, Klassiki, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
