Romain Duris plays Stéphane and Rona Hartner is Sabina, his sex partner, in Tony Gatlif's "Gadjo Dilo."Īt least that seems to be the message of "Gadjo Dilo," the third in Tony Gatlif's Gypsy trilogy. The women bathe in pairs with flowers in their hair. Gypsies are wacky, fun-loving and hard-drinking they have a hearty appetite for sex, a visceral connection with music and a real sense of community. The antidote for the quiet desperation and alienation of contemporary urban lives is much simpler: becomeĪ Gypsy. Orget yoga, tai chi, psychotherapy and monastery vacations. The New York Times on the Web: Current Film.Running time: 97 minutes.'Gadjo Dilo': Embracing the Gypsy Cure Instead of ProzacįILM REVIEW 'Gadjo Dilo': Embracing the Gypsy Cure Instead of Prozac A Lion’s Gate Pictures release of a XXX production, opening today at Real Art Ways, Hartford. GADJO DILO, written and directed by Tony Gatlif director of photography, Erich Guichard music composed by Gatlif art director, Brigitte Brassart edited by Monique Dartonne produced by Doru Mitran. Unrated and subtitled in English, “Gadjo Dilo” contains profanity, flashes of nudity, lovemaking and a few violent confrontations that lead to death. “Gadjo Dilo” is Gatlif’s third film about gypsies - the two earlier being the critically acclaimed “Les Princes” and the award-winning “Latcho Drom” - and it marks the worthy conclusion to a fascinating triptych. Hartner, whose Sabina is a seductive and glorious dancer, sometimes overplays the silver-toothed, narrow-eyed gypsy stereotype but proves powerful in the film’s emotional climax. He has the services of an engaging cast - with winning performances from Duris and Serban. Gatlif, who wrote and directed the film, also created the soundtrack, a collection of tunes that range from joyful shouting to grievous wails. Gatlif’s transitions are sometimes awkward, and especially when the camera leaves the gypsy encampment, it can be difficult to discern the location or its initial significance. Also powerful is the graveside mourning ritual that is first demonstrated by Izidor and reprised by Stefane. In another, Sabina finishes bathing by “scrubbing” herself and her wet hair with wildflowers. In one, a bit of jury rigging from power poles results in the arrival of electric light. There are several magical moments that have a documentary verisimilitude. Stefane also begins to understand the gypsies’ place in a larger world and the perils of prejudice and intolerance that affect their daily lives and periodically place them in physical danger.Īlthough the plot is linear, Gatlif fills “Gadjo Dilo” with fragmentary scenes that add up to a portrait of gypsy life. The gypsies’ manner of outrageously insulting and cursing, openly expressing their emotions and living in the moment is infectious. Speaking in their own language, the young women leer at Stefane and call out to him in a manner that might curl the hair of a drunken sailor.īut even as Stefane is drawn into the hidden and misunderstood culture of the gypsies, so are the outsiders who comprise Gatlif’s filmgoing audience. The first glimpse of young gypsy women is equally shocking. In the early scenes, Isidor Serban’s drunken, shouting, grieving Izidor is a public nuisance, a late- night loudmouth who drinks firewater and mourns his son. He invites Stefane home to the gypsy encampment of dirt-floor houses and makeshift dwellings that is enlivened by colorfully clad gypsies who “can fix anything” and sometimes make a living as musicians. Izidor, whose son, Adrjani, was recently arrested and imprisoned, believes Stefane has been sent as a blessing from God. But given the hardships of the road, Stefane seems on the verge of abandoning his nomadic life when he encounters Izidor, an old gypsy musician who says he knows Luca. Armed with recording equipment and blank tapes, the young man is on a quest to find Nora Luca, the singer who was the favorite of his dead father. The title, which means “crazy outsider,” refers to Romain Duris’ Stefane, a young Parisian gradually drawn into the gypsy way of life.Īs Gatlif opens his film, Stefane is wandering on foot on a barren, inhospitable road in a wintry Romania. Writer-director Tony Gatlif continues his exploration of his gypsy heritage with “Gadjo Dijo,” a film that offers a fascinating glimpse of the culture and plight of Romanian gypsies.
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