Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends
by Jasmine Dellal
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Esma Redzepova, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Johnny Depp, Maharaja, Taraf de HaidouksDirector: Jasmine Dellal
Brand: New Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: DOCURAMA
Product features:
- An audience favorite at film festivals worldwide, GYPSY CARAVAN is a dazzling display of the musical world of the Roma, juxtaposed to the real world they live in. Five bands from four countries unite for the World Music Institute s Gypsy Caravan 6-week concert tour across North America with the musicians astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, f
Movie Reviews of Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends
Movie Review: Joyous
Summary: 5 Stars
The premise here is very simple: 4 countries, 5 bands, and a 6 week tour of the US/Canada circa 2001 by filmmaker Jasmine Dellal ("American Gypsy: A Stranger In Everybody's Land"). The bands represent different styles of Roma/Gypsy music coming together at a crossroads of diasporic jamming. This film has the feel of "Festival Express" meets "The Last Waltz", but with better music and some awe inspiring stage performances!
The bands come from Rajasthan, India (Maharajah), Macedonia (Esma Redzepova/Ensemble Teodosievski), Spain (Antonio El Pipa), and two are from Romania (Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocarlia). For those who've seen the films of Tony Gatlif, Emir Kusturica, or the films "The Man Who Cried" and "Borat", the Romanian bands will sound very familiar to you because their music has been featured in these films. The sounds represent flamenco, brass, orchestra-ensemble, strings, laments, and ragas...an incredibly mixed bag over the Romani diaspora and even centuries. As for the dance, amazing.
It must be said that the music is phenomenal, these musicians give truly transcendent performances. For me, it's the interactions between these acts and the glimpses into their respective lives/homelands that take this from being just another concert film to a pure delight. There's so much joy here...joy in the music and with each other and the joy given to the audiences watching. You get to see where the music comes from in terms of experiences and history....how each land influenced it's musicians as much as the musician have influenced it.
These folks really had great fun and enjoyed each other's company, this is evident and great to watch. They seemed so intrigued by the music of their counterparts and so interested in the similarities to their own. The band that seemed most popular and intriguing to all the musicians were the Rajasthanis, Maharajah, who brought the roots. All of this mutual interest produced a not-to-be-missed jam-filled finale.
As for Johnny Depp, he's in this documentary for about 2-3 minutes. He appears in connection with the band Taraf de Haidouks. He counted them as friends and he worked with them on "The Man Who Cried" becoming a huge fan and acquiring a fedora habit. They appeared at The Viper Room. He wanted his name to not appear in promotion of this film for fear of overshadowing it. It's not about him, so Depp fans buy this knowing it's 3 mins of him and 2 hrs of great Roma music. Nicolae Neascu, the leader of Taraf de Haidouks, has a rather amusing comment on the subject. The Taraf seem to have gained a few more famous admirers in Iggy Pop and Jim Jarmusch via JD.
This film is a wonderful introduction to Roma/Gypsy music and very entertaining in general. Watching this has definitely made me seek out more of the artists' work and led to deeper interest in Roma cultures and people. This film inspires, showing beauty can emerge from any situation, no matter how harsh.
Summary of Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends
An audience favorite at film festivals worldwide, GYPSY CARAVAN is a dazzling display of the musical world of the Roma, juxtaposed to the real world they live in. Five bands from four countries unite for the World Music Institute s Gypsy Caravan 6-week concert tour across North America with the musicians astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, from Romanian violin and Indian folk to Raga and jazz. And with fire in their bellies and soul in their voices, they present an explosion of song and dance that celebrates the best of Gypsy music and the diversity of the Romani people.Shot by cinema verité icon Albert Maysles, the film takes place during the USA tour as well as on location in Macedonia, Romania, India and Spain, the tales of these characters unfold and are woven between their performances, reflecting the imagery and emotion of the music. GYPSY CARAVAN is a Romani celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping, and your soul uplifted.
The astonishing variety of music made by the folks known as the Romani is spotlighted in Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends... (the title references a Gypsy proverb: "You cannot walk straight when the road bends"). Such diversity isn?t surprising, considering the history of these most peripatetic people, who are also known as Rom, Roma, or simply Gypsies. As writer-producer-director Jasmine Dallal?s film tells us, they originated in India, but began migrating a millennium ago, ending up both everywhere (primarily Europe, but scattered across the rest of the globe as well) and nowhere (Gypsies have no homeland; as one puts it, "We never went to war, never occupied any country, and never harmed anyone," and yet they are among the world?s most mistrusted and persecuted peoples). The one thing they?ve always had, however, is music, and plenty of it. Originally released in 2006, the film chronicles a six-week trip on which five bands from four countries performed in New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Austin, Ann Arbor, and other North American cities. The musicians are all excellent, but several stand out. Macedonia?s Esma Redzepova, a force of nature known as the Queen of the Gypsies, has an amazingly supple voice and a wailing power that regularly reduces audience members to tears, while two Romanian groups, Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocarlia, combine a mind-boggling array of sounds (the short list includes everything from polka and klezmer to country, bluegrass, and Dixieland) to wild, electrifying, and occasionally rather nutty effect; other artists include India?s Maharajah, whose show includes a young male dancer who appears in female dress and makeup, and an exciting flamenco ensemble from Spain. The documentary also takes us to their respective homelands, which adds considerably to our understanding of this fiery, soulful culture (as do the bonus features, which include uncut performances by the principals as well as off-stage turns by them and various others). A side note: one of the cinematographers is Albert Maysles, whose previous work includes Monterey Pop and documentaries about the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and many others. --Sam Graham
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