Picture of the movie La Gomera ( The Whistlers ) © Vlad Cioplea
Corneliu Porumboiu explores the power of language in La Gomera (The Whistlers)
In La Gomera (The Whistlers), the playful Romanian filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu follows Cristi, a crooked cop, on a trip to the Canary Islands, where he must gather information needed to free a businessman with a troubled past. But in order to do that, he must learn Silbo, a whistled language which is unique in the world: known only to the residents of La Gomera.
What drew you to this very particular type of language?
The idea that in a society which is increasingly monitored, in which you are led to play a role, an ancient form of communication can allow you to escape that kind of monitoring. I learned of its existence ten years ago, on television. I had just finished Politist, Adjectiv (Police, Adjective, shown at Un Certain Regard in 2009), the central premise of which centred on language and the way it can be used as a political weapon. Silbo seemed to me to be an opportunity to continue my exploration of that theme.
Could we see a similarity between the two forms of language: cinema and Silbo?
With Silbo, you can encode a spoken language. In a way, cinema is also a type of language, capable of encoding reality. I had the idea of examining that question in my film by playing with different genres.
Humour is a fully-fledged character in your films.
For me, humour is something spontaneous. Perhaps I get it from my culture. Humour enables cinema to take a step back from reality. At the same time, it brings the audience closer to the characters. My characters are always very serious. They think, wrongly, that they can completely control their destiny.
What does that involve, in terms of directing actors?
On set, I always ask my actors to take seriously every situation their characters find themselves in, even the most bizarre ones. It is that seriousness which gives my films a touch of the absurd. The most important thing for me is to follow my instinct and to express my outlook on things.
