Whistle: Movie Review

Director: Christopher Nelius

As light as a song on the breeze, director Christopher Nelius' Whistle (not to be confused with the recent horror movie of the same name) is as genial and pleasant as they come - and content to let its subjects do the talking.

Or in this case, the competitive whistling.

Assembling a mix of global competitors who all just put their lips together and blow may seem like the kind of assignment that quirky investigative journalist David Farrier would have done years ago, but this has all the elements of a best in show style doco you'd expect.

There's the ever-so slightly out of control self-appointed director of the event (Carol Anne Kaufman), the competitor (Yuki) from Japan who always places second or third at the Masters of Musical Whistling competition, a Spanish genius who's doing it for the first time (Ayna) - the list goes on.

But as the camera follows the build-up to the 3-day event, what emerges instead of a gently mocking tone is something that salutes the camaraderie and support of each other - and when one competitor simply loses the art of how to whistle on stage for his first-ever appearance, it's somehow amusing and utterly devastating.

It's in the smaller moments that Nelius fashions something heartwarming and universal. Whether it's catching Carol Anne in micromanaging mode, berating a store seller who she feels is underselling the chocolate prices despite the standee's protestations nobody is buying anyway, or catching the moments some of the competitors live their lives outside of the event, Nelius builds something that's both warm and engaging, even if it is a little corny.

Unashamedly feel-good and with plenty of heart, Whistle's grounded commitment to a colourful cross-section of humanity makes this perhaps one of the most crowd-pleasing films of the year - even if it's not the most technically original.

Whistle is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for screening times, visit nziff.co.nz