ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

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

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Martin Teller As in their first film, 25 WATTS, Rebella and Stoll draw influence from Jarmusch. But in this case, it's the good parts of Jarmusch... the parts that are more like Kaurismaki. There's a lot of wonderful deadpan humor in this film, like the brothers exchanging socks from their own factories when they greet each other, and nearly identical gift shop T-shirts when they say goodbye. Jacobo is both a comic and a tragic figure, someone you want to love but he just doesn't get it. Marta is the real heart and soul of the film, with a really endearing performance from Mirella Pascual. Although the ending may appear ambiguous, I think it's pretty clear that she's undergone a personal triumph. It's a warm, funny and consistently engaging movie. Definitely one for any Kaurismaki fans to check out. I wasn't very taken with 25 Watts, but now I'm sad that we'll never know what other work this collaboration might have produced.

TxMike DVD, approx. 90 minutes, from my public library. Spanish with English subtitles.Set in Uruguay, Jewish Jacobo, a humorless and dour man, owns a sock factory with two young women and one middle aged woman, Marta, as workers. Jacobo takes orders, Marta bags them up, and he delivers them in his car that always has trouble starting the first couple of times. Every evening, Jacobo or Marta checks the bags of the two young ladies to make sure no socks are going home with them.Jacobo's mother had been unhealthy for a while and when she died, her other son, Herman, was not able to attend the funeral. Presently they will have a memorial service for her, Herman is flying in from Brazil, and Jacobo asks Marta if she will come stay at his house for a few days, pretending she is his wife. We are never told why, I assume it was to impress his brother.We quickly see that Marta looks forward to the invitation, puts on makeup, dresses nicely, she sees an opportunity to try to turn old sow's ear Jacobo into her personal silk purse. Decent men are hard to come by, apparently.A good movie to see for anyone who enjoys different types of small, independent films. Also interesing to see oher cultures.SPOILER. After mom's memorial service, the three of them go on a mini vacation, Marta and Herman have a good time, but Jacobo worries all the time about how much things cost and is always sour. On a whim he bets money, wins, gives Marta a big "gift" of thanks. Back a work, 7:30AM, Jacobo shows up but Marta does not. We suspect she has gone for good. The title "Whisky" is in reference to what they say to smile right before photos are taken on two different occasions. Similar to our saying "cheese."

Roberto I recently saw this masterpiece of Latin American cinema. I've always taught that you don't need a big budget to make a big movie. Great movies relay on a great message, a solid statement. On this particular case "Whisky" from the beginning makes a point through its own images and pace. The viewer gets immersed in a routine, a horrible way of life of the main character (Jacobo Koller) that consists of living with no ambition, owning a horrible sock factory and going home with nothing... not a smile, not a desire, nothing, just the same routine over and over again. At the beginning when we see the same shots over and over, it seems like the movie is insisting upon itself, but is too important to state the point of the routine. We, as viewers get tired of watching this terrible life, imagine what it would be to live this life. When the main characters brother (Herman Koller) comes to Uruguay (a far more successful,and younger brother, that lives in Brazil), Jacobo asks Marta (an employee of his) to pretend she's his wife, probably to avoid criticism from his brother and to bare his brother's trip to Uruguay with someone else. Marta has the same features as Jacobo she lives a life of routine, with no surprises, nothing to take her out of her boredom. She's shy, and retrieved within herself, there will be a couple of scenes when we can see that probably Marta has been like this since she was a girl. Her relationship with Herman grows, she's in movement she wants something new. As for Jacobo he doesn't feel anything for life he's pessimistic, stubborn, a man with no dreams. The movie invites us to review our own life, are we going in a direction of routine and boredom? or are we looking for something new? Sometimes we can find that breath of life in the smallest of places, in the most unconventional of places, a book, a movie, a song, a trip, a person anything can give us something to live. Marta surely received that breath, and we all can.

mvdmvd I couldn't disagree more with the last comment. Probably the best movie to come out of Uruguay in a long time. This is a beautiful subtle movie but definitely not for those who need to be told when to laugh or when to feel. Full of humor, full of sadness, and really smart. A great step towards maturity taken by the directors of "25 watts". I cant wait to see where they go with their third movie. Anyone has any idea? Again, if you need an applause sign to tell you what's good, you wont know what to do with this movie. Give subtlety a try.Keep it simple.