O Assoviador

Good entry into the realm of folk based Latin American supernatural stories. The Texas raised writer director has stated in several interviews that his influences range from the acting style in Ingmar Bergman early films to the mise en scène in Park Chan Wook's body of work which pretty much hints at what is experienced in this film. The Bermudez brothers are primarily telling us a slow burning dual story of human drama that veers into the supernatural for a cathartic climax.

El Silbón / The Whistler is based in a very famous rhyme in couplet in the Venezuelan shallows, where a misterius entity whistles befero he attacks a bad person, when the whistles sounds near this monster is far, when the whistles sound far he is near. The movie has so little script but rightfully supported by a great cinematography and a great sound.

I didn't have high expectations when I watched it for the first time (Watched it twice already) but what a pleasant surprise! It's a well thought out film that is not afraid of being different, in fact the film embraces its weirdness and it works quite well, like a big jigsaw puzzle without any time stamps. The director bets on our capability to understand what's going on within the frame, he gives us plenty of hints so we can catch up with the two different time lines and he does all this without saying much, dialogue is kept to a minimum, less is more! After all is said is done, this film is a great conversation starter with friends and family. I repeat myself, what a pleasant surprise!