Film

Although Gypsy strains can be heard in de rigueur indie-rock bands like Beirut or the hot jazz of countless Django Reinhardt disciples, Gypsies (or Roma, as many, but not those in this film, prefer to be called) are still an underdiscussed ethnic group. Gypsies live in a diaspora, where their minor-key musical passions have become so integral to their adopted cultures as to be indistinguishable.

This doc, inspired by the tour of the same name, brings together disparate ambassadors of Gypsy music as they traverse America over a six-week period. Although the throw-people-in-a-box-and-film-them story line can feel awfully flimsy at times, director Dellal treats these musicians with appropriate—and infectious—reverence.

Stunning nightly performances—especially by the ululating, cherubic Romanian diva Esma Redzepova—are intercut with visits to each performer’s home. And each stop, in its own way, mesmerizes. We visit flamenco dancer Antonio el Pipa’s gorgeous, sun-streaked studio in Spain; the septuagenarian violinist Nicolae Neacsu chain-smokes his way through reflections on caring for his daughters; and Queen Harish Kumar relates from India how he got his start as the lithe drag-queen dancer for the band Maharaja. And save for one middling disagreement, we see a group more fascinated by its collective identity as outsiders than as individualists. As an intelligent introduction to a lush and unappreciated culture, Caravan more than drives its point home.