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Latcho Drom

Play trailer Poster for Latcho Drom 1994 1h 43m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
For the second installment in his trilogy on Gypsy life, Tony Gatlif follows a family of travelers over the course of one year. Vivid costuming, music and dance serve as counterpoint to the darker realities of longstanding persecution. Beginning in India and ending with the Gypsies' eventual arrival in Spain, this cinematic journal details a richly nuanced nomadic lifestyle in which family, honor and tradition are as essential to survival as water, transportation and food.

Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 06/07/2022
3/4
Chiefly the movie celebrates, ecstatically, the Gypsy experience. Go to Full Review
Fernando Gonzalez Miami Herald 08/18/2021
3/4
Many of the images are stunning. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/17/2005
3/5
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 05/11/2004
A-
This rare look at Gypsy folklore is worth checking out, even if you are only interested in the lively music. Go to Full Review
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice 07/19/2003
A sensual and sensuous tribute to the gypsy culture by Tony Gatlif. Go to Full Review
Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) 09/10/2002
4/5
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Audience Reviews

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02/21/2021 Outstanding cinema of the highest order, (so long as you like great music!) See more 03/04/2019 ...And now for something totally different... French director Tony Gatlif's documentary film highlights Romany musicians and dancers in a geographical sequence from India to Egypt, then Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and finally Spain, indicating their people's migration westward. This film has no dialog nor voice-over. It is all singing and dancing, and it is fascinating. The people we see are in their actual daily life, as they live their nomadic ways, with the stories and rhythms of their musicians and dancers sustaining the shared theme of their heritage. Whether it is a violin, harmonium, spoons, milk jug, or group clapping, their melodies are their soul, their pride, and their culture. Audience dancing during the movie is encouraged. See more 07/28/2013 Latcho Drom is a wonderfully sensual film but IS NOT a documentary. It is more like an extended music video that provides the viewer with a vague, suggestive sense of a culture that has nomadically traversed many lands but refuses to assimilate and maintains a 'victim' identity . If you're wanting an honest documentary with a true dialogue about the complexities of culture clash this film is anything but. There is no real substance to this film but there is a lot of texture, beautifully woven and stitched with music, lyrics, dance and stunning cinematography into an almost dream-like journey. One might be mislead into thinking that the director has opened a portal into a world that is normally closed to outside visitors and, in a very limited way, I supposed he has. There are wonderful glimpses at the uniqueness of some Rom culture and living situations but these are mere backdrops for the music that holds the whole effort together. There is no real weight to this film but the weightless transcendence will stay with you long after the images are gone. See more 12/16/2012 Tony Gatlif at his best! One of the greatest documentaries I've ever seen. See more 07/29/2012 As a documentary, this fails, as it provides precious little information about each song and people, but as a musical exploration of the Romany people, it soars. If you love traditional music and songs, this one will be an utter joy. See more 09/19/2011 this movie took my breath away ! thats all folks ! See more Read all reviews
Latcho Drom

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Movie Info

Synopsis For the second installment in his trilogy on Gypsy life, Tony Gatlif follows a family of travelers over the course of one year. Vivid costuming, music and dance serve as counterpoint to the darker realities of longstanding persecution. Beginning in India and ending with the Gypsies' eventual arrival in Spain, this cinematic journal details a richly nuanced nomadic lifestyle in which family, honor and tradition are as essential to survival as water, transportation and food.
Director
Tony Gatlif
Producer
Michèle Ray-Gavras
Screenwriter
Tony Gatlif
Distributor
Shadow Distribution
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 4, 1994, Original
Runtime
1h 43m