Whisky (15)

This tragi-comedy of sibling rivalry and lives filled with regrets, envy, simmering hostilities and understated but intense emotions is worth making the effort to watch, The stark contrast between the monosyllabic, depressed and bitter Jacobo and his charismatic albeit rather cheesy brother Herman is hilarious. Marta is the loyal and long suffering 'foreman' who works at Jacobo's sock factory which is on the brink of closure; the two of them have long since dispensed with the need to converse and have an almost telepathic although lacklustre relationship. When Herman comes to stay for a few days Jacobo's pride and painful awareness of his empty life compels him to ask for Marta's 'help' - such is their understanding she immediately recognises that he needs a 'faux' wife and sets about organising the finer details to support the deception. Despite such an incredible favour Marta is doing, we never see a hint of appreciation from the dour Jacobo, in fact such is her lonely and predictably boring existence, she actually seems to enjoy the task. The awkward silences and palpable tension seem more of a problem for the audience than for Marta and Jacobo for whom such bizarre, non-interactions seem 'normal' - so accustomed are they to this half life they endure.

A heart warming gently humorous film.You engage with the characters and situation because they are't trying too hard.Still it is deconstructive,a performance within a performance.One wonders why the brother Jacobo cannot be straight with his other brother,but it's like he's saving face as his brother's done so well. Nothing much happens,but it's got a lovely melancholy.