Latcho Drom

The journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.

I am somewhat skeptical of this being a pure "documentary". Much of it looks too clean, too scripted. It has no narrative, but still has something about it that feels overly cinematic. Or maybe that is just how good the director is? However, even if this was staged, it is a document of real Roma people, their dances and their music. And that in itself has a great deal of value. I am not aware of any other culture that expresses itself in song quite so much. I suppose one could say Native Americans, but even there, it tends to be more at a ceremony and not really part of the daily life.

Beautifully filmed, mind expanding exploration of Gypsy culture in the context of their music. Travel across a continent, experiencing the amazing musical styles of various groups of Gypsy peoples. It is sort of misleading to say this movie is not narrated. It is masterfully narrated by the music itself, the soaring melodies and subtititled lyrics tell a story much better than a narrator would have. See this film.

the perhaps curious life of the nomadic Roma people has always been a great topic of interest to me since my childhood, basically because of their fascinating and enchanting music, aside from their free living style ...

so, when this movie started, so beautifully with the nomadic Roma of Rajasthan in India, showing their ritualistic singing and dance and everything in their chaotic desert dwelling, i just felt hooked up to keep watching, and that i did until the very last minutes of this truly great documentary.

i have to admit i had not been impressed by any movie for a long time indeed. well worth the time spent and i'm sure i'll be able to watch this movie again and again once in a while in future ...

this will be a great piece of evidence to keep for anyone as a historical document portraying a much ignored (albeit admired-by-some) tribe's life ...

What makes this documentary special from a film-making perspective is its passiveness; which engages the audience to bask in the delight of gypsy music. It innovates the form of documentary while showcasing a tapestry of sound and movement that invites us to celebrate the primal similarity found within the traveling music of (historically) traveling peoples.

Indeed the film itself is a single "take" of sweeping movement that travels the globe and transitions effortlessly from one rhythmic culture to the next.

Watching this film, one's breath is taken away by the simple beauty in our common connection to music, rhythm and dance. If there is a more deeply spiritual, flowing homage to the sound and movement of gypsy cultures, it has yet to be filmed.

Latcho Drom is a cinematic survey of Gypsy music from several countries. It is touching, sad and joyous. Most of the segments appear to be completely unstaged, unrehearsed. The music, ranging from the sensual flamenco music of the Spanish Gypsies, to the melancholy music of the Central European Gypsies, is exquisite. If you love Gypsy music, you'll find Latcho Drom absolutely beautiful.