Film a celebration of Gypsy music and culture
By Margaret Smith
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jan 20, 2009 @ 06:22 PM
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Acton, Mass. —
Exuberant violins and brass, the soaring passions and aching sorrows of flamenco echo across the same stage as a compelling drum beat from northern India -- rhythms from which these and many other sounds sprang.
These far-flung music styles came together in the Gypsy Caravan tour, chronicled in “When The Road Bends: Tales of A Gypsy Caravan,” which follows the artists, technicians and producers on a very noisy bus traveling to elite concert halls throughout North America.
The film is a dramatized documentary following the tour -- a dazzling survey of Gypsy music in its many forms, which included a Boston area stop -- and reaches into the inner lives of the artists and staff , both on stage and off.
Enthusiastic audiences greet them everywhere. With shots of the musicians’ encounters with devoted fans on sidewalks and during shows, the film slyly records how “right now” Gypsy music has become, even as Gypsy people continue to suffer discrimination and sometimes differ over how to chart a course for a better future.
Despite a common origin, the Gypsy communities represented on the tour have to work to find common ground, overcoming barriers of geography, language and cultural differences.
Interspersed with dazzling performance segments are segments of the performers’ friendships and occasional clashes on the bus and in hotel rooms, and glimpses into their lives back home.
These postcards from their native lands – forming a trail of the Gypsy diaspora, from India to the United States – are often sad, but not without silent victories.
In their homelands, even the most celebrated musicians can face struggles despite their celebrity status. Esma Redžepova, a celebrated Macedonian singer, recalls the plight of the influx of refugees from Kosovo.
The Romanian ensemble, Taraf De Haidouks, became stars through concerts and film appearances, with Johnny Depp – who appears briefly – among their fans and collaborators. But, band members support an entire, impoverished Gypsy village, where their large extended families live. Juana la del Pipa, matriarch of a flamenco family, speaks from her apartment in Spain about helping loved ones overcome drug addiction.
Extras include more concert footage, vintage footage and scenes of Gypsy life in various locales, an interview with Depp that rambles and provides little added insight.
Rich with history, stories, music and dance, “Gypsy Caravan” is a rare, candid insight into an intensely private people, with musicians – as they so often are – ambassadors -- shuttling between worlds in the hopes of bringing them together.
‘When The Road Bends: Tales of A Gypsy Caravan.’ Directed by Jasmine Dellal. Little Dust Productions. English, with Spanish, Romany, Romanian, Macedonian and Hindi with subtitles. Margaret Smith is Arts and Calendar Editor of GateHouse Media New England's Northwest Unit. E-mail her at msmith@cnc.com.
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jan 20, 2009 @ 06:22 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acton, Mass. —
Exuberant violins and brass, the soaring passions and aching sorrows of flamenco echo across the same stage as a compelling drum beat from northern India -- rhythms from which these and many other sounds sprang.
These far-flung music styles came together in the Gypsy Caravan tour, chronicled in “When The Road Bends: Tales of A Gypsy Caravan,” which follows the artists, technicians and producers on a very noisy bus traveling to elite concert halls throughout North America.
The film is a dramatized documentary following the tour -- a dazzling survey of Gypsy music in its many forms, which included a Boston area stop -- and reaches into the inner lives of the artists and staff , both on stage and off.
Enthusiastic audiences greet them everywhere. With shots of the musicians’ encounters with devoted fans on sidewalks and during shows, the film slyly records how “right now” Gypsy music has become, even as Gypsy people continue to suffer discrimination and sometimes differ over how to chart a course for a better future.
Despite a common origin, the Gypsy communities represented on the tour have to work to find common ground, overcoming barriers of geography, language and cultural differences.
Interspersed with dazzling performance segments are segments of the performers’ friendships and occasional clashes on the bus and in hotel rooms, and glimpses into their lives back home.
These postcards from their native lands – forming a trail of the Gypsy diaspora, from India to the United States – are often sad, but not without silent victories.
In their homelands, even the most celebrated musicians can face struggles despite their celebrity status. Esma Redžepova, a celebrated Macedonian singer, recalls the plight of the influx of refugees from Kosovo.
The Romanian ensemble, Taraf De Haidouks, became stars through concerts and film appearances, with Johnny Depp – who appears briefly – among their fans and collaborators. But, band members support an entire, impoverished Gypsy village, where their large extended families live. Juana la del Pipa, matriarch of a flamenco family, speaks from her apartment in Spain about helping loved ones overcome drug addiction.
Extras include more concert footage, vintage footage and scenes of Gypsy life in various locales, an interview with Depp that rambles and provides little added insight.
Rich with history, stories, music and dance, “Gypsy Caravan” is a rare, candid insight into an intensely private people, with musicians – as they so often are – ambassadors -- shuttling between worlds in the hopes of bringing them together.
‘When The Road Bends: Tales of A Gypsy Caravan.’ Directed by Jasmine Dellal. Little Dust Productions. English, with Spanish, Romany, Romanian, Macedonian and Hindi with subtitles. Margaret Smith is Arts and Calendar Editor of GateHouse Media New England's Northwest Unit. E-mail her at msmith@cnc.com.
Labels: Films, Gypsy, Gypsy Caravan, Gypsy Dance, Gypsy Music, Roma
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