Vengo

Rating:
Summary: El sur de España y los gitanos que sufren.
Review: I found this film to be disappointing. Yes, the music and flamenco dancing is wonderful. But as I am enduring this film I can't help but think that the director used every possible moment to "shove" some sort of dancing or singing into the story line which in and of itself needed a lot of work.
I love the culture from Spain and just about all it has to offer. A pattern I seem to notice with the many films Spain produces is that taboo issues are brought to the service. For example in this film, the nephew is mentally disabled. I don't know if in real life this actor is or not but how often do you see this in American films? Another example would be Pedro Almodóvar's film All About My Mother where several characters struggle with HIV, or Noriega's main role in Abre Los Ojos where a good looking man loses it all to being facially disfigured. My point is these films are art reflecting real life situations. A more realistic experience in my opinion make for a more enjoyable experience. Flamenco has some gorgeous cinematography, the acting was quite good, the story and how it flowed just needed a lot of polishing.

Rating:
Summary: soundtrack info
Review: the soundtrack for this (and other Tony Gatlif films) is available from amazon.fr (which is to say, amazon France) -- you DON'T have to know french to order anything. just look up vengo in the search box, and make sure you pick the musique CD option, not the DVD option. since it's the same basic setup as amazon.com (yer friendly English version), just have the two windows open side by side, and go through the order in english AND french at the same time. worked for me.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Passion
Review: The title that I gave this review sums it up. This film is an excellent look at a people (Los Gitanos) whose every act or thought is infused with passion. Passionate dance, passionate music, passionate love of Life, and passionate hate. The essential plot concerns two feuding gypsy clans in southern Spain, Andalucia (the birthplace of Flamenco). A Clan's brother has been killed by the brother of the protagonist. The protagonist seeks to protect the life of his handicapped nephew, who is the son of the initial murderer. However, the story is played out to its tragic end with a backdrop of excellent Flamenco music and dancing. As with the story, Flamenco music and dance can not be easily described as beautiful, or even wonderful; some of the songs are quite discordant. The best word to use is compelling; one is entirely drawn into it emotionally, used up by it, and left exhausted, literally. It has an hypnotic effect to it, using all the themes of Life: Joy, Jealously, Betrayal, Love, Sex, and the tragedy of Death. This film and El Flamenco Puro are mirrors, held up to each other. This film, and Flamenco, are the stories of our lives, but told passionately. Always passionately. Watch the film, and be prepared to be swept away by the Passion!

Rating:
Summary: few thigs
Review: things that takin pleasure from earth r few.One s music.Flamenco s one of the kinds which I cant do without.But I tell u first u gotta 'now the rhtyms of flamenco.But if u r like me u r gonna understand what I mean.Gatlif has caught the line perfect.The movie both talks about the(in a fantastic way)music of the spanish gipsys n them.Musicians r increadeble.Not the beauty of the way they play they r givvin the mood.Dancers,singer n the guitarists...

Rating:
Summary: Vengo
Review: This a truly excellent film. That I recommend to anyone who enjoys both flamenco music and Spain's less traveled sites.
This movie gives you a peek to what usually only locals get to enjoy such as the all night cave party, the bar scene with La Caita and the boat show . The Musicians appearing are all top notch Tomatito, La Caita Gritos de Guerra and others. I know that the soundtrack will be a real treat too.
Highly recommend it!
"Vale hombre, que esta pelicula esta de p*ta madre"

Rating:
Summary: Attention Flamenco Aficionados
Review: This is a powerful , hipnotic, tour de force movie that captures the soul of flamenco. Although it is not a documentary and is a drama it has the feel of a documentary. This is probably because the realism is brought out by Algerian-born director Tony Gatlif's use of "real" flamenco artists as opposed to actors. The lead is taken by Antonio Canales who in real life is a renowned dancer. Ironically he does not dance in the film but plays the role of a leader of a gypsy clan that is at odds with a rival clan of gypsies. The thin plot evolves around avenging the death of a family member of the rival clan. Caco is the name of Canales in the movie and he is a man with a heavy heart after the death of his young daughter and the responsibility of keeping his clan together and protecting his nephew who suffers, although you'd hardly know it, from cerebral palsy. Many of the scenes involving Caco and his nephew are funny as they romp from bar to as Caco looks to find him a "good time" with some beautiful women. The plot is nothing exceptional but the film draws it's superb power from the fantastic musical performances. Set in Andalusia, the stark landscape, the whitewashed churches contrasting with the dressed in black clan is a powerful reminder of the roaming gypsy existence steeped in a long ancestral heritage. The clan moves about in old cars, and a flat bed truck that doubles as a stage as they set up daily for their night of wine, dance and music. The fiery flamenco music is the real reason to see this movie. The performances by such greats as Tomatito, La Caita, Gritos de Guerra and La Paquera is nothing short of spellbinding. The close camera work reveals the duende in the faces of the performers as they collaborate for the best scenes of the movie, and there are many of them as it is full of emotion. An interesting aspect of this movie is how director Gatliff incorporates the history and ethnic mixes of flamenco into the film by using Sheik Ahmad Al Tuni as a vocalist on several songs amidst Turkish flutes blown by Kudsi Erguner, interwoven by masterful guitar work by Emilio Fernandez de Los Santos and Ramon Pisa Borja, who also sings on occcasion. Naturally all of the performances are accentuated by palmas(clapping), gritos( guttural shout outs) and lively percussion. Many of the singing and dancing performances are done by women and the harsh , throaty sounds emanate and penetrate deep from their souls. I keep saying performance but in actuality you feel as though you are not watching a performance but are watching a lively get together of family members; it is truly amazing stuff that will captivate you. The spontaneity of the clan in action is a dervish whirlwind of activity that is the extended family personified. As the clan adds color to the landscape by bringing out their huge pillows and blankets, the tranformation begins to take shape as the music starts to capture the spirit of southern Spain.You are more of a witness to an extraordinary celebration of life in spite of it's sometimes tragic consequences. If you love flamenco than you will love this movie. If you are new to or have limited knowledge of flamenco you will be engrossed and probably seek out some flamenco music afterwards. This is a powerful piece that reveals the soul of flamenco. Highly recommended for flamenco aficionados.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully idiosyncratic
Review: This is a really interesting and thought-provoking film - and very much worth seeing. I wasn't wowed by the flamenco, with the possible exception of La Caita's singing in a fiesta that takes place in a restaurant. The best flamenco are little bits where the characters are standing around being bored, start doing palmas, and then take turns doing little dance moves.

The north African music and dancing, on the other hand, are absolutely wonderful. There's a Sufi singer and some dancers who just knocked my socks off. I don't know what the hell they have to do with the rest of the film (nor why Gatlif had flamenco guitar superstar Tomatito noodling along during some of their singing and dancing), but I'm sure glad that they were included.

Another interesting and unusual musical moment is a percussion "symphony" of mechanical sounds, composed by Gatlif.

The most remarkable character in the film is Diego, a young man with cerebral palsy whose father has fled to Morocco and whose adoring uncle, Caco, is continually arranging flamenco fiestas for his entertainment. The film makes poetry out of every aspect of Diego's spastic bodily and facial movements, whether he's walking down the streets of Sevilla, talking about a beautiful woman, or taking his turn at dancing. When a payo like me sees that even a gitano kid with cerebral palsy can dance in compás, it's enough to make me burn my guitar.

Rating:
Summary: "Todo bonito en Andalucia" - primo Alejandro
Review: This movie is very moving. For me, the beauty of it lies in the portrayal of the ways that gypsies deal with their sorrows and their traditions. Yes, the plot is simple, but there is so much beauty in its simplicity because it brings out so many details about the lives that we, westerners, don't know much about.

Let's start from the whitewashed village of Andalucia, where the family lives. You will see the chemistry, the bonds of the gypsy family life, the division of responsibility, so to speak, between the young and old, men and women. You'll see the infamous puti clubs, embodied by Caco's El Rey, the sad dealings of sorrow and revenge between two families that not many generations ago were brought up together. You will be profoundly affected by way that Caco, the protagonist, cares for his crippled nephew and will be very, very amused by Alejandro's search for cell phone connection in the middle of the highway.

All of the aforementioned factors make this movie very worthy of your time, without starting to mention the beauty of flamenco. One of the things that struck me was the ease with which Caco would throw parties and invite flamencos from all over Spain. The recently deceased La Paquera de Jerez sings por seguiriya, i believe, and La Cajita's presence will stir a few butterflies in your stomach, along with other flamencos, and most notably, the beautiful moorish dancers in white spinning to the old moor's voice will be a dance you won't easily forget.

I would definitely recommend this movie, not so much for flamenco purposes (which was mine) but for a better awareness of the gypsy culture. Now, please don't misunderstand me and quote me as saying that this is what the gypsy life is, because for most part, it's not, but it definitely brings some exposure about to values and their ways of life.

Rating:
Summary: Music 5, story 2: Only for Flamenco lovers
Review: You must love Flamenco music first, before you have any chance with this movie. It will not make you like Flamenco, but if you have a passion for it already there are wonderful musical performances here by great artists: The guitar playing, the complicated hand clapping, the singing, and dancers dancing in their regular street clothes as the flamenco erupts for the moment informally, as is the gypsy life style of Southern Spain.
The story is another matter; a vague beginning, poor and unclear plot development about two warring families, the need for revenge (VENGO), with a slight twist at the end. The plot development is so cloudy it takes a while to figure out it is all very standard. But there is an interesting, inspiring treatment of a spastic teenager as one of the crowd, very well done. This movie has highs and lows. The opening scene is wonderful combination of improvised flamenco and Moroccan music. It was 20 minutes later I figured out it was a funeral scene, later I realized it was a funeral scene for the main character's daughter, who I later figured out may have been a Sufi dancer. The movie is not a mystery, it is just lacking in explanation sometimes.
It is as if the director had a few very good ideas, putting them into the movie with much soul and fire, never worrying about the overall continuity, as if the passion was justification enough (perhaps that also is very gypsy). The DVD has practically nothing in the way of extras.
Final Word? If you like Flamenco, see this movie (I rented it from Blockbuster).