Emir Kusturica-Dom za vesanje ('Time of the Gypsies') (1988)

In this luminous tale set in the former Yugoslavia, Perhan, an engaging young Gypsy with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime which threatens to destroy him and those he loves. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0097223/plotsummary)




The story centers around Perhan, a young Romany Gypsy who has inherited telekinetic powers. He lives with his grandmother, a gifted healer; his little sister, who is physically handicapped; and his uncle, a ne'er-do-well gambler, hopelessly in debt to the local thugs. They live together in a little house on the outskirts of Sarajevo, surrounded by the Gypsy community that is the focus of their lives.




Perhan is tricked into traveling to Italy with Ahmed, a local Gypsy lord. Ahmed traffics in everything from selling babies to pimping. Perhan is forced to lead the life of a petty criminal while, back in Sarajevo, his grandmother has promised to look after Azra, his fiancée.




Ahmed promises that he's sending money back to Sarajevo each month, to be put towards the costs of the new home he is having built for Perhan and his fiancée. When Perhan returns home, he discovers that there is no house being built, that his fiancée is now pregnant with what may be his uncle's baby, and, most tragically, that his little sister, thought to be receiving medical treatment, has in fact been forced to beg in the streets to survive.




These revelations change Perhan's heart irrecoverably and he sets out on a mission to destroy Ahmed and find his sister. The rare glimpse into the Romany Gypsy culture is enough to make this film interesting, but the story is so compelling, the cinematography so excellent and the characters so fascinating, that it takes on the proportions of a major work of film.




Emir Kusturica won the award for Best Director from the Cannes Film Festival for Time of the Gypsies (1989). We cannot recall any film delivering so much of that which we all watch foreign films for. Remember, we recommend that it be watched twice, in order to absorb the ambience.




With "Time of the Gypsies" Kusturica delivered one of the most visually stunning and unique films of all times. It's not only great to watch, it also delivers a highly poetic statement about all fundamental things in life: love, guilt, death and revenge. (http://www.1worldfilms.com/time_of_the_gypsies.htm)