Whisky (ej svensk text)

WHISKY, winner of the Fipresci and Prix Original Regard Awards in Cannes last year, is an international critics’ hit and has been marked as a turning point for Latin American Films on the international art house circuit. Made with the scarce means available for low budget productions in Uruguay, it is a delightful deadpan comedy about the accidental couple Jacobo and Marta, who work in the sock factory owned by Jacobo. Day in, day out, they work together and follow the same gloomy routine, not mentioning their private lives. But one day, Jacobo's routine is threatened by an unexpected visit from his estranged brother Herman, who has been living abroad for years. The two brothers have not had much contact, but now Herman feels the urge to get involved with placing a gravestone for their mother. Preferring to lie rather than admit his bachelorhood to his married brother, Jacobo asks his mousy assistant Marta to act as his wife. She agrees and poses with Jacobo for photos (‘whisky’ is the Uruguayan equivalent of ‘say cheese’) to decorate the walls of his bachelor apartment, and the three relative strangers try to overcome the awkward situation. Fun-loving Herman suggests a seaside trip for the quirky trio, but the good times are minimal, until Marta starts to express herself and develops a will of her own. In the meantime, also Jacobo comes out of his shell to gamble his future on the roulette table.