Whisky Romeo Zulu  (2004)

Theatrical Release Information:
Whisky Romeo Zulu

Airline pilot-turned-whistleblower-turned-actor Enrique Pineyro makes his debut as a writer/director with the autobiographical docudrama Whisky Romeo Zulu. Pineyro essentially plays himself, a principled pilot at LAPA, the Argentinean airline, increasingly dismayed over the company's disregard of basic safety regulations. When he complains, he's labeled a troublemaker, and when things get so bad that he refuses to fly one defective plane, the company simply gets another pilot to take his place. Increasingly frustrated and worried about a potential crash, Pineyro finally writes an angry letter to his superiors, warning that a crash is inevitable if action isn't taken. The letter is leaked to the media, and the airline is sold, but the new owners want Pineyro to retract his statement. Complicating matters, their public relations person is Marcela (Mercedes Morán of The Motorcycle Diaries and The Holy Girl), a childhood crush that Pineyro never got over. She's since married, but that doesn't stop the divorced, embattled pilot from pursuing her. Pineyro's story is intercut with that of a government investigator (Alejandro Awada) looking into a LAPA crash, who starts receiving death threats. Whisky Romeo Zulu was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their 2004 Latinbeat Film Series. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide