The Crazy Stranger (1998)

Some like it crazy!

What makes a good movie a great experience?: great acting, fantastic music, unforgettable scenes, sweet humour and the aroused urge to be right there with those people in the movie. This flick has it all! I have seen it 5 times now. After each viewing I left the screen smiling in my heart and feeling very happy. I don't know how many more times I will watch it, but I sure talk about it whenever the best movie subject is brought up in the conversation. May all of you enjoy it! September 6, 2008

timeless showcase

There are simply simple stories this movie belongs to: young french researcher is keen to find a singer of Gypsy songs his father loved very much.

And realistic show of a near-cave age existence of the Romanian Gypsies of the 20th century fall has been unfold, music, dramas, bigotry following.

Like Legong - Dance of the Virgins

this movie ("A Crazy Stranger" in English-sphere productions) is a real timeless showcase for the future generations.
June 3, 2007

Gadjo Dilo on DVD

This film is, in fact, on DVD. It may, however, only be available as an import. A friend of mine introduced me to this film and I immediately hunted down the soundtrack on Amazon. It's been the #1 film I've recommended to friends and total strangers since seeing it. November 19, 2004

A breath of fresh air from outside the Hollywood cesspool

In an era when Hollywood has degenerated to the point of only being able to crank out such "masterpieces" as the Austin Powers series, "Dumb and Dumber" and "American Pie", or recycling old ideas in new and even shoddier versions like "Starsky & Hutch" and "Walking Tall", it's reassuring to see that filmmakers outside the good ol' U.S. of A. can still manage to make films which deal with real human emotions rather than crass cynicism.

This movie focuses on the story of a young Frenchman who inherits an old casette tape that his anthropologist father once made of a traditional Gypsy singer. Seeing her voice as a link to his dead father and a channel for his grief, he sets off on an obsessive quest to far-flung Romania in search of the songstress.

Watching this movie which was shot entirely on location in the Romanian countryside, I was struck at how lucky we are these days, as until the end of the Cold War just a few years ago, an Algerian director shooting a film with a French actor in the wilds of Romania would have been a totally unimaginable thing. And it was a treat watching a film which is entirely in Romany (aka Gypsy) language, along with some French and Romanian.

In Romania, the youth goes to a Romany (Gypsy) village. But being unable to understand even a word of each other's language, the villagers have fun making sport of him by heaping him with obscenitites. But eventually he does make friends and gradually becomes drawn into the fabric of Romany daily life. Along the way, we the viewers also come to experience and understand the carefree and spirited zest for life that permeates Romany culture.

The film also includes a love story, but director Gatlif chooses to ultimately make his film a much larger commentary on the uncertain and difficult life for the minority Romany, given the ethnic tensions and discrimination they experience with the majority Romanians.

So if you're sick of Hollywood's version of "Reality" and would like a glimpse at a fresh and different perspective on the world, I HIGHLY recommend this movie.

-- But hurry! McDonalds has opened in Romania too, and you just know the crew for the next "Tomb Raider" flick can't be far behind!

P.S. -- This film NEEDS a DVD version NOW!! June 27, 2004

true&sad

If you'd like to learn more about gypsy's life and their music you must buy or see this movie. February 24, 2004

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