Time of the Gypsies

Time of the Gypsies (, literally "Home for Hanging") is a 1988 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica. Filmed in Romani and Serbian, Time of the Gypsies tells the story of a young Romani man with magical powers who is tricked into engaging in petty crime. It is widely considered to be one of Kusturica's best films.

The film revolves around Perhan, a Gypsy teenager with telekinetic powers and his passage from boy to man that starts in a little village in Yugoslavia and that ends in the criminal underworld of Milan.

The movie's soundtrack was composed by Goran Bregović.

Plot summary

Perhan lives with his devoted grandmother Khaditza, his lame sister Danira and his dissolute uncle Merdzan. He wants to marry Azra, but her mother won't allow it, as Perhan is the illegitimate son of a Slovenian soldier who had an affair with Perhan's late mother. Ahmed, the "money king," comes to the village with his brothers. Merdzan loses his clothes playing cards with Ahmed's brothers, and comes home desperate for money so that he can repay. After he lifts the house up during a rainstorm, Khaditza proposes a deal with Ahmed. Perhan's sister Danira needs an operation on her leg, so Perhan goes away with Ahmed to drop Danira off at a hospital in Ljubljana, from there they go to Milan. At first Perhan wants to make money honestly, but after being dragged through the mud, Perhan begins stealing and squirreling money away in a shack.

After being double-crossed by his brother Sadam, Ahmed appoints Perhan boss of the operation. Now relatively rich, Perhan goes home, where he is enraged to find Azra is carrying another man's child. She claims the child is his, but Perhan refuses to believe her. They marry with the condition that he will not raise the child. Perhan is also disappointed to find that the house Ahmed promised to build him is not being built at all, and that Danira was not operated on, but forced to be a beggar. Azra dies after giving birth to a boy, who joins Ahmed's crew.

After four years of searching, Perhan reunites with Danira in Rome, who leads him to Perhan Jr., whom Perhan now accepts as his child. Perhan drops the children off at the train station, promising to meet up with them after settling the score with Ahmed, who is about to be married. Perhan arrives at the wedding and kills Ahmed, using his telekinetic powers on a fork, and Ahmed's brothers, but he is in turn killed by Ahmed's new wife. Perhan Jr. steals the coins put on his father's eyes at the funeral.

Cast

Davor Dujmović - Perhan

Bora Todorović - Ahmed

Ljubica Adžović - Khaditza (Grandmother)

Husnija Hasimović - Merdžan (Uncle)

Sinolicka Trpkova - Azra (girlfriend)

Zabit Memedov - Zabit (neighbor)

Elvira Sali - Danira (sister)

Suada Karisik - Dzamila

Sedrije Halim - Ruža, Azra's mother

Awards

At the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, Emir Kusturica won the Best Director Award and the film was also nominated for a Palme d'Or (Golden Palm). At the 1991 Guldbagge awards in Sweden, the movie won the award for Best Foreign Film. In addition, Time of the Gypsies was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1990 César Awards in France.

See also

List of Yugoslavian films

References

External links

Category:1988 films Category:1980s drama films Category:Films directed by Emir Kusturica Category:Yugoslavian films Category:Serbian films Category:Romani culture Category:Romani-language films Category:Serbian drama films Category:Serbo-Croatian-language films Category:Serbian fantasy films Category:Italian-language films Category:Serbian comedy films