When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan (2006)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jasmine Dellal

Release Date:

15 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A brief look into Romani culture and Rom (Gypsies) from around the globe as five famous Romani groups tour the USA. The film visits their families at home in Spain, India, Macedonia and Romania.

Plot Keywords:

Bus Tour | Flamenco Dancer | Gypsy | Musician | Singer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Fanfare Ciocarlia
Taraf de Haidouks
Johnny Depp	...	Himself
Antonio El Pipa
Maharaja
Esma Redzepova

Directed by
Jasmine Dellal

Produced by
Wouter Barendrecht	....	executive producer
Joanna Chejade-Bloom	....	associate producer
Jasmine Dellal	....	producer
San Fu Maltha	....	executive producer
Michael Werner	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Alain de Halleux
Albert Maysles

Art Direction by
Josh Fifarek

Sound Department
Carlos M. Cano	....	assistant sound editor
Martin Czembor	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marius Emil Stanescu	....	sound recordist
Mariusz Glabinski	....	sound effects editor
Marlena Grzaslewicz	....	supervising sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Roko Belic	....	additional camerawork
Adam Jeppeson	....	additional camerawork
Dean Mermell	....	additional camerawork
P.J. Raval	....	additional camerawork
Margarita Semadeni	....	additional camerawork
Dan Uneken	....	still photographer: Spain

Editorial Department
Kiki Allgeier	....	post-production associate
Don Bernier	....	assistant editor
Carlos Chacon	....	post-production associate
Craig Gordon	....	digital intermediate editor
Margarita Jimeno	....	assistant editor
Paulo Padilha	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Mariusz Glabinski	....	music editor

Other crew
Bryan Bruchman	....	production assistant
Houston King	....	producer's representative

Thanks
Josh Fifarek	....	very special thanks

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• AMG Entertainment (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Shadow Distribution (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Shadow Distribution (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (200?) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Docurama (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Gypsy Caravan (USA) (working title)
When the Road Bends... (International: English title) (short title)

Runtime:

USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Romany | Romanian | Macedonian | Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:AL | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Clejani, Romania

Quotes:

Nicolae NeacÅŸu: When I was a kid, 3 fates came to me. One destined this, one destined that, and the youngest asked me, "When do you want an easy life? When you are old or young?" I said, when I am old. Because when I'm young I can carry life's bitterness.

Stunning!

I stumbled upon this on PBS, and I'm enchanted. I've always been fascinated by the Romani culture and history, and there is so much of that here, tucked in between the songs. There is so much good information here about a people who have been horribly misunderstood and persecuted for most of their history. The movie's approach of wrapping the history and culture into the music, and the stories of the musicians, works very well. The artists, from India, Macedonia, Romania, Spain...all very different, but springing from the same place in the heart. Beautiful, soulful music from beautiful, soulful people. I especially enjoyed Esma, and her stories of life with her husband, Stevo. But I also loved Maharajah, and the other bands. The whole thing is beautifully done. I'll be buying this so I can watch it at my leisure. Don't miss it if you have a chance to see it.