Rent Time of the Gypsies (1988)

A walk on the Wild Side - Time of the Gypsies review by PM

I wanted to see this film because I'd read somewhere that it features authentic Balkan folk music, and from this point of view it was a little disappointing as although the music is great, there's not really a lot of it. While watching the film I thought it was pretty harsh and unbelievable, but it's one of those that you think about a good deal afterwards and right now I feel it was a heroic and quite succesful attempt at sharing something quite difficult. There's a point in the film where the hero makes a decision which is almost impossible to credit, given my own cultural milieu, one of those decisions which appears to have irreversible and horrific consequences. I'm sure I will be asking myself for the rest of my life whether his actions at the end of the film redeemed his honour and dignity, and whether indeed honour and dignity are worth more than overcoming suffering. I hope I haven't given too much away. There are some great acting performances and despite it's ascent/descent into the mystical/quasi miraculous, the film for me conveys some important truths that may still be alive today.