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If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (15)

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (15)

Drama

Two weeks before his release, a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern.


The critical consensus

Romanian writer/director Florin Serban’s taut debut offers a fresh spin on the prison-hostage drama.

***(*)(*)Tom Dawson, Total Film, 08/05/2012

The standoff that results, as Silviu finally decides to grab what he wants in life, proves as despairing as it is tense. Not for the first time, a Romanian film shows us an individual floundering within a system from which there can be no easy escape.

***(*)(*)Steve Rose, The Guardian, 17/05/2012

Serban’s film is as flawed as the bruised character at its centre, but almost as compelling too.

***(*)(*)Paul Gallagher, The List, 18/05/2012

The tone, though not the style, brings to mind The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

Philip French, The Observer, 20/05/2012

This is Şerban’s second feature, and even though it’s not quite all there, we very much look forward to his third.

***(*)(*)David Jenkins, Little White Lies, 17/05/2012

Serban’s intelligent understanding of psychology and talent for aesthetically engrossing drama suggests his future will hold a long and distinguished career.

***(*)(*)Callum Madge, TV Bomb, 26/05/2012


Features about If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (15)

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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