King of Kong, The: A Fistful of Quarters
Staff Favorite
Synopsis
A Buena Vista Social Club for Gypsy music, Gypsy Caravan tags along with five Gypsy bands from Spain, Macedonia, Romania, and India as they unite for a World Music Institute six-week concert tour across North America. Writer-producer-director Jasmine Deliah insinuates her camera into the affairs of the bands and their families as well as poking around backstage but she’s really come to celebrate the musical world of the Roma and the luscious music of top international Gypsy performers. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, from Romanian violin and Latin folk to Raga and jazz. And as The Village Voice advised its readers, this film “deserves to have its brilliant colors, lavish costumes, and vivacious musical numbers seen on The Big Screen.” Shot by the legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens), who, along with his late brother David, is credited with creating “direct cinema”—the U.S. equivalent of cinema verite.
