Life Is to Whistle

La Vida es Silbar
File:54m.jpg
Directed by	Fernando Pérez
Written by	Fernando Pérez Humberto Jimenez
Starring	Luis Alberto García Isabel Santos Claudia Rojas
Music by	Edesio Alejandro
Distributed by	ICAIC
Release date	1998 (Cuba)
Running time	110 min.
Language	Spanish

Film Description

Life Is to Whistle (La Vida es Silbar) tells the stories of three end-of-the millennium Cubans, whose lives intersect on the Day of Santa Barbara (the African Saint Chango, ruler of destinies). Mariana, a ballerina, ponders breaking chastity vows she made to land the coveted role of Giselle; Julia has fainting spells each time she hears the word "sex," and Elpidio, a musician, seduces a gringa tourist while Bebe, the narrator, takes us for a taxi ride along the streets of Havana. In Life Is to Whistle, Fernando Perez displays the same cinematographic lyricism that won his first film, Madagascar, the Special Recognition in Latin American Cinema award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. Set to the music of Bola de Nieve and Benny More, the film dazzles us with a uniquely Cuban blend of absurdist humor and mystical realism. Perez, who began his film career as assistant director to Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Santiago Alvarez, stands apart from his Cuban counterparts for his ability to portray human dilemmas in quirky, unpredictable ways. Fernando Pérez gives the jaded lives of his characters a new significance through his whimsical, exuberant vision. The film gathered several awards in the International Film Festival Circuit.

External links

• La Vida es Silbar at IMDb