Sherparsa
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this movie again and again once in a while in future ...this will be a great piece of evidence to keep for anyone as a historical document portraying a much ignored (albeit admired-by-some) tribe's life ...
j-connolly
This film is a tapestry, a series of portraits of Rom communities woven together by music. It's very much a musician's film, because of the paucity of spoken dialogue - and what dialogue there is, is not important to the structure of the narrative. Some might expect a National Geographic tale of "customs, dress, and music" or a plot-line orbiting a few central characters - don't look for that here.This is because it paints a portrait of a family of peoples, rather than telling a story of individuals. The plot is the story through space (India to Andalucia) and/or/ time (we cannot tell) of a people. There is no need of narration. You get a sense of a joyous people, strongly linked in small communities where social interaction is very important. And a great sense of sadness in parts, at their rejection by society at large.So it's a paean to Rom culture, very beautifully shot, with a wide spectrum of Rom music, and a sting in the tail which is the oppression these people have faced, and still face.
famefetishfilms
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.
Allan FINEBERG
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.
AD
