Whisky (2004)

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I have just seen this film and I thought it a fantastic. I found it to be a heart rendering look of the routine of life. I felt an immediate connection with Marta and found her character to be central to the film. The dower and unemotionally Jacob adds a darkness to routine as life has left him unable to connect with the people around him emotionally as can be clearly seen at the end of the film hen he just goes back to the factory as if nothing has happened.The brother Herman while illuminating Jacobs darkness tries throughout the film to reconcile with Jacob but to no avail. His one happiness of he trip is meeting Marta. He also shone a light on the situation Marta was in. Caught in between the brothers her character throughout the film slowly begins to realise that there is more to her life than working in the factory and losing herself in the films she watches after work. To see Marta smile and laugh and start to enjoy herself is in complete contrast to the efficient factory supervisor.The film keeps you guessing as to whether Jacob and Marta get it together or Herman and Marta get it together or the two brothers hug and make up in true Hollywood style. I am very happy to say that the film wasn't a Hollywood production and that life does not work out in 90 minutes and happy endings are for fairy tales. It was a well shot and well acted film that delivers the message life is life and you must make your own happiness. I recommend this film to any one.It was a well made film that makes you think.

In America photographers exclaim, "Say Cheese!", to elicit a smile, but in Uraguay, it's, "Say Whisky!". WHISKY, co-directed by Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, is a droll and dead-pan character study set in Uraquay. Jacobo is a Jewish, 60 year old sock factory owner (it's actually more of a 'shop'}, who invites his more successful brother to attend their mother's final internment. Jacobo has spent a significant portion of his life nursing their dying mother, and after her passing, his life is completely devoid of any emotional attachment, while Herman has married and raised a family. So to demonstrate the barest degree of social validation, Jacobo asks his shop assistant, Marta, to pose as his wife for the few days of Herman's visit. Not a lot happens, although the trio travels to the resort town of Piripolis, but it's off-season and they are almost by themselves and there is little to do. The plot is secondary to the studied and calculated performance of the three main characters who enact a desperately throttled search for emotional connectivity. If you enjoy the films of Abstract Expressionist, Jim Jarmusch, you'll probably love this whimsically comical gem of a film. Since so much of the narrative is conveyed by austere and simple mannerisms of the three principle lead characters, WHISKY is reminiscent of the classic silent films of the past. WHISKY is a rewarding cinematic experience which truly embodies the belief that, 'Less Is More'.

Following the more crowd-pleasing blockbusting antics of the likes of City of God and Amores Perros, it came as quite a surprise for this quieter, more restrained example of Latin cinema to perform so well on the 2004 international festival circuit.The Uruguayan directors Pablo Stoll and Juan Pablo Rebella, following their previous effort 25 Watts (2001), once again centre their story in the small, provincial town of Montevideo. Jacobo Koller owns a modest sock factory that employs a few local women, including Marta. A year after his mother's death, his successful businessman brother Hermann visits from Brazil to attend the memorial. Jacobo requests that Marta pretends to be his wife while his brother stays. After the ceremony, the three take an impromptu trip to a small seaside resort.While this premise may sound overly familiar from a million-and-one lightweight US sitcoms, the delivery is never short of fresh and intriguing. It rarely approaches the sort of twee sentimentality we might expect after reading a short synopsis. Almost nothing is said for the first half of the film as we observe the characters' drab, innocuous lives. And yet, despite this, the film somehow succeeds in upholding a surprisingly light and comic atmosphere. There are genuine moments of deadpan humour. The actors (schooled in the reticence of the national theatre) never force the comedy, in fact it is more often the camera that delivers the punchline; the constant repetition and rituals, the framing of the lanky Jacobo and squat Marta and a sudden romantic karaoke sequence that is all the more touching for its spontaneity.Like the titular drink, Whisky is warm, satisfying and definitely suitable for repeat viewings.

And the bite is memorable.I've been somewhat ... reluctant about long atmospheric mood setting shots where the fast-forward button becomes irresistible. The thing with this movie is that if you -like me- become fascinated at the beginning it's impossible to fast-forward anything as "indulgent" as it may seem, everything is directly (not even poetically) related to the movie, so much detail and so underplayed like our everyday lives.. Except it looks so pretty, and it all just hits you like a ton of bricks.I'm not completely sure about the absolute need to know Spanish in order to enjoy this film, because the acting is superb. You could almost follow the movie by watching the expressions and body language.