Whisky

Aki Kaurismäki seems to haunt this wonderful comedy from Uruguay about an over-sixty “love” triangle between a grumpy sock factory owner, his faithful assistant, and his excessively cheerful, far more successful brother. Directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll (whose 25 Watts heralded the Latin American new wave) have a keen sense for the awkwardness of human communication and for cinema’s ability to capture it. Wordless moments, weathered faces, and excellent comic pacing convey the humor of three disparate souls forced together but still apart. Whisky won the Prix du Regard at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.