Stuff You Gotta Watch: Latcho Drom
As an introduction to Europe’s largest minority, the people often called “gypsies,” Latcho Drom, from 1993, is an enchanting, impressionistic documentary—and arguably the most beautiful music documentary ever filmed. Following the migrations of the Roma peoples and their music making from Rajasthan to Andalusia, the narrative is told by musical interludes featuring leading artists.
In Romania, the dozen-strong string ensemble Taraf de Haidouks play on the street (and later won hipster attention after being championed by Johnny Depp). In Spain, Remedios Amaya sings a powerful flamenco after families are evicted by the local government. In Turkey, the sequence is filmed in Istanbul’s Sulukule’s neighborhood, long famous for its Roma musicians yet destroyed by Erdogan’s government in 2009 (so as to develop the land).
Beautifully shot by French director Tony Gatlif, Latcho Drom (“safe journey” in Romany) doesn't offer commentary or analysis, simply presenting these forever persecuted nomads who make exceptional music. For a film that barely deals in the spoken word, Latcho Drom conveys a very concrete sense of historical reality. And the fact that the film exists at all, flouting genres and national barriers, is of no small political importance.
Review by Garth Cartwright. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.