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

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:

Musician | Singer | Gypsy | Flamenco Dancer | Bus Tour

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
PJ 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:

"When the Road Bends..." - International (English title) (short title)
"Gypsy Caravan" - France
"Kanyarog az út - Egy cigánykaraván meséi" - Hungary
"Opowiesci cyganskiego taboru" - Poland (festival title)
"Romanien tie" - Finland
"Romernas väg" - Finland (Swedish 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.

Don't Get Too Hung Up On "Gypsy"

Some of the above writers are overreacting to the word "Gypsy." Sure it's etymologically and ethnologically inaccurate, but names for ethnic groups often are. How about "American Indian?"

Actually, when speaking English, many Roma themselves seem to have little or no problem referring to themselves as "Gypsies." Likewise, ask an American Indian what he/she would like to be called and you may be surprised to find that most of them would prefer "Indian" over "Native American," "American Aborigine," or whatever. I think some well-intended non-Indians and non-Gypsies just decided for themselves that these names are offensive, without even actually asking the effected peoples themselves.

Besides, you should know that the Romany word used for non-Roma, Gadjo, is unquestionably of a pejorative connotation (in contrast to, say, "Gentile"), reflecting the fact that in traditional Roma culture the Gadjo are considered unclean (which is exactly what the word means). Furthermore, though it may not be politically correct to say so, the fact of the matter is that in the traditional culture the Gadjo are to be strictly avoided, unless they can somehow be exploited for the benefit of the Roma. Do some serious research into Romany culture before you summarily doubt this.

So don't be so uptight. "Gypsy," when you get right down to it, is really just the English Language name for a Roma person, just as "Niemiec," meaning one who just doesn't understand or get it (and is by inference an outsider) is the word in Slavic languages for a German, and just as the word "Slav" is the source of the word for slave in most western languages. I mean, how politically incorrect is that?