[Dixielandjazz] Slightly OT - "Gypsy Caravan" new film

[David Richoux]

In the recent "time signature" thread the mention of unusual patterns  
found in Eastern European/Balkan bands came up. This film should be  
of interest to those on this list who like to explore different kinds  
of music...

trailer at:
http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/downloads_trailers.php


Dave Richoux

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By Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times


The term "Gypsy," often used pejoratively, conjures images of  
wastrels, vagabonds, fortunetellers and thieves, not to mention a  
distant memory of Cher (the Sonny & version) belting out, "I was born  
in the wagon of a traveling show . . ."
The label has dogged the Romani people - believed to be descendants  
of nomads who left India a thousand years ago and fanned out across  
Europe - throughout their history. Yet they bear the name with a  
certain defiant pride, eager to prove their detractors wrong. In  
recent years, the Gypsy Caravan concert tours have brought the  
musical culture and flavor of these people to American audiences to  
great acclaim.
Filmmaker Jasmine Dellal, recognizing a rich subject when she saw  
one, assembled a crew that included famed documentarian Albert  
Maysles ("Gimme Shelter" and "Grey Gardens") and chronicled the fall  
2001 tour. The result is the intoxicating documentary "Gypsy  
Caravan," which uncovers the same joy and sorrow that characterizes  
the Romani music in the everyday lives of the musicians who play it.
The film starts with a Romani proverb, "You cannot walk straight when  
the road bends," and through the six-week North American tour  
featuring five disparate musical acts from four countries, the film  
follows a very bendy road, indeed. Amid the performances and heavy  
traveling schedule occur some of life's more dramatic moments  
including a wedding and a funeral.
Rather than putting the audience in the front row for the concerts,  
Dellal allows us to observe from the wings, with an all-access pass  
that grants us intimate entrance to the rehearsals, tour bus, hotels  
and ultimately the homes of these artists. Hailing from Romania,  
Macedonia, Spain and India, the five bands are, at first glance, as  
dissimilar as can be, yet they share rhythmic and thematic  
similarities that can make the differing languages meld into one.
The playful cacophony that marks the beginning of the tour evolves  
into lively collaboration by the end. The passionate dancing of the  
Spanish flamenco group, Antonio el Pipa from Andalucia, shares the  
stage with the traditional Indian folk troupe, Maharaja, which  
possesses the mischievous rambunctiousness of the Flying Karamazov  
Brothers and the rock-star swagger of the young Rolling Stones.  
Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia competes with Macedonian diva  
Esma Redzepova for the adoration of the audiences, which pack each  
venue along the way. Taraf de Haidouks, a Romanian band of violin  
virtuosos (who count Johnny Depp among their devotees) tie everything  
together with their magic strings.
As compelling as the music and concert footage is, it is the vitality  
of the performers as characters that enables the movie to transcend  
the music documentary genre. No dramatist could create a figure as  
charismatic as Redzepova, known as the "Queen of the Gypsies," who  
along with her husband adopted 47 children and founded a music  
school. A woman of ample proportions and verve, she commands the  
stage and was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work  
in advancing Romani rights.
Equally memorable is Nicolae Neacsu, one of the founding members of  
Taraf. Though he's a seemingly frail old man, his face sheds 20 years  
when he tucks the violin beneath his weathered chin and begins to  
play. The charm he emits onstage belies his observations on  
loneliness and growing old he makes offstage.
In addition to capturing precious footage of the musicians and  
dancers during their down time on tour, Dellal returns to the  
musicians' and dancers' homelands as she profiles them. Seeing them  
with their families leading simple lives in modest surroundings adds  
a dimension to understanding their perseverance that goes far beyond  
anything that could have been said in an interview.
The film records a vibrant diaspora that exists despite centuries of  
persecution. The one thing all the members of the tour appear to want  
to convey is the absurdity of the stereotypes that precede them. In  
discovering the commonalities they share with one another, they  
communicate a powerful search for a group identity that they can  
continue to pass on to future generations.`Gypsy Caravan'