Le temps des gitans

Dom za vesanje is not a movie that an average viewer can comprehend thoroughly, but this doesn't change the fact that it's a masterpiece. Emir Kusturica's storytelling requires some talent, intelligence, and flawless attention to follow and understand correctly, nonetheless it's absolutely unique and fantastic. I would never ever have thought I'd enjoy seeing the world through Yugoslavian gypsies' eyes, but it turned out to be possible so long as it's Kusturica who opens the window. Goran Bregovic's adorable tunes suit the movie perfectly fine too. This movie was one of those that strengthened my opinion which states European movies are a billion times better than American movies. Thanks to Kusturica and Bregovic for producing such a beauty. A perfect 10 for the cast as well.

I'm glad I was bored on a Friday night and decided to browse the foreign film section. I randomly picked Time of the Gypsies, and now it is my favorite. The soundtrack, as well as the movie, is amazing. This film is unique in almost every aspect. It was moving without being too gushy or fake--I highly recommend seeing it. The other commentees have said pretty much everything else about this film in an nicely eloquent way, so I feel I need not elaborate. :)

Surreal, amazing and absorbing, there are not enough words to explain how great this movie is. I watched it late night on ITV in London from 2am to 4am only to catch a train the next day to Kent, but i don't regreat one moment of it. Am not even going to bother telling you what the film is about, because it really is one of those stories thats best kept to oneslf. Its like a good memory you keep to yourself. I have not seen any of the other Emir Kusturica films, but i will highly recommend this movie for all those that love fantasy, film and a good story.

Dom za vesanje: Approved

This movie shines as an example of pure art in cinema. So powerful with symbolism and story telling, "Time of Gypsies" delivers amazing performances on acting, settings, musical scores, and overall directing.

In year 1988, this movie was one of the most awaited films in the Istanbul International Film Festival. I was one of the lucky ones who had a ticket for the film. When the show time arrived, it was obvious that there was a problem since the film did not started. A lady from the festival committee came to the stage announcing their appology and explaining what the problem was; they were expecting the copy of the film from the its distributor in USA. Unfortunately there was a logistics problem, so they had to get it directly from Yugoslavia. When the festival organisation put their Yugoslavian translators at work they did not understand which language it was! And a cleaning lady, who was an actual gypsy figured out that the movie was in Gypsy language. So it was not possible to translate it for the festival.

So they offered an apology and refund in case anybody did not want to watch it without subtitles.

Nobody left the theatre. We watched the movie without understanding a word. But, at the end there was a standing ovation at the theatre went on for a couple of minutes.

'Time of the Gypsies' is a big, full movie.

It is full in the way a magic realism novel is full, with its intergenerational cast of characters; its vivid sense of place, the weather and community life, where private is always public, where joy and tragedy are inextricable; where magic, dream and delusion are indistinguishable.

It is full in the Fellini sense, with its grand, often hallucinatory, set pieces; its profusion of grotesques; its bursting compression of many plots; its general noisiness.

It is one film containing many simultaneous films (a gangster film; a surreal road movie; a romantic comedy; a rites-of-passage; a Christian allegory).

It somehow feels a little thin, like a tapestry of chunks from a massive novel. It is certainly a prime example of retrospective dating - at the time it seemed a masterpiece; over a decade on, it's pastiche Kusturica.