Films
When the Road Bends ....Tales of a Gypsy Caravan
The "Gypsy Caravan" tour extravaganza features performances by Macedonian diva and "Queen of the Gypsies" ESMA REDZEPOVA, traditional Indian folk troupe MAHARAJA, Romanian FANFARE CIOCARLIA, the violin wizardry of Romanian group TARAF DE HAIDOUKS and the ANTONIO EL PIPA FLAMENCO ENSEMBLE.
The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation."
The Scoudrel's Wife (Home Front)
Chocolat
The Raggedy Rawney
The film centres around the character of Tom, a young army recruit in an unnamed time and country (presumably World War II-era Eastern Europe) who deserts after an artillery barrage kills his sergeant, in the process blinding a sadistic officer who tries to stop him. He is shellshocked into muteness and takes refuge with a traveling gypsy caravan, led by Darky (Hoskins). Among the principle members of the clan are Darky's mentally disabled son, Simon, Simon's mother Elle (Wanamaker) who harbors a grudge against Darky, and Darky's only daughter, Jessie (Nathenson), who forms a romantic bond with Tom, eventually becoming pregnant by him. In order to avoid arrest and execution by the army, Tom disguises himself as a "rawney," described in the film as a kind of "magic" madwoman, who (in the gypsy culture) is able to see the future and can control animals. Frightened at first, Darky befriends the "rawney", thinking him/her to be good luck, but soon Darky is revealed to be a flawed leader, unable to protect his clan from war, and beset by family turmoil which is exacerbated by Tom's presence. Throughout the film, the army and the partially blinded officer is a menace, threatening the Gypsies' way of life and those who befriend them. In a moving finale, the army corners the gypsy clan, managing to hold them off with meager rifles and pistols long enough to enable the young members of the clan, including Tom and Jessie, to escape, at the cost of their own lives.
Pied Piper of Hutzovina
In the summer of 2004, on a car journey in Eastern Europe, Pavla Fleischer met and fell in love with Eugene Hutz, lead singer of New York's Gypsy Punk band Gogol Bordello. Captivated by his energy and his musical verve, and desperate to get to know him better, she decided to make a film about him. The Pied Piper of Hutzovina follows Eugene and Pavla on their subsequent road trip through Eugene's home country, Ukraine. It is the story of two people traveling together on two very different courses. Her aim is to rediscover a forgotten romance; his is to rediscover his roots. She hopes to find love on the road; he hopes to find musical inspiration from the gypsy culture he is determined to preserve. This is an intimate portrait of a filmmaker with a passion for her subject, and a punk musician with a longing to revisit his past. Theirs is a journey which tests their relationship and challenges their perceptions of the music they both love. Written by Anonymous
