Thursday, June 26, 2008

Train De Vie - Gypsy meets Klezmer music

I just ran across this fabulous scene from the movie Train de Vie where Gypsy and Jewish peasants and musicians collide. I'm sure I've seen it before, so here's a general hat tip to whichever blog or mailing list go it first. Train de Vie is a film by Radu Mihailenau which tells the story of a fictional "small Jewish village in Central Europe [that] organize[s] a fake deportation train so that they can escape the Nazis and flee to Palestine." (Quote from IMDB)

Jewish klezmer vs Gipsy music - Train de vie


Hat tip to YouTube user TaraDeHaidouks for posting the video.

7 comments:

Dan Carkner said...

They used to play this movie on TV sometimes here in Canada when I was younger, I'm not sure why. It's actually kind of bad on some levels, but this is a cool scene for sure--wasn't it put together by Goran Bregovic?

Jack said...

Hi Dan. I'm jealous. I've never seen the full flick. I'd like to, even if, as you say, it's "bad on some levels." (As my wife will confirm, I have a long love affair with bad movies.) According to the Internet Movie Database and and wikipedia> Goran Bregovic is given credit for the original music score. I don't know if he had any involvement with the conceptualization or direction of the scene as well.

For everyone not familiar with Bregovic (as I wasn't until Dan brought him up), he "is a musician from Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most recognizable modern composers of the Balkans. Composer and guitarist Goran Bregović has been a household name in the Balkans for over three decades. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then Yugoslavia), Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesaria Evora. He earned his fame wielding a guitar with his rock band Bijelo dugme, a group that rose to stardom and set the groundwork for the Yugoslav rock scene. Known internationally for his scores for Emir Kusturica’s films (Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, Underground), Bregović commands an ensemble that matches his larger-than-life persona. A rowdy brass band, bagpipes, a string ensemble, a tuxedo-clad all-male choir from Belgrade, and traditional Bulgarian and Roma singers make up his dynamic 40-piece band and orchestra. Bregović’s compositions, extending Balkan musical inspirations to innovative extremes, draw upon European classicism and Balkan rhythms, evoking rock’s searing power as well as the repose of sacred sounds–all fueled by the insistent drive of brass" (text from Wikipedia)

Anonymous said...

It's a GREAT film, worth to be seen in it's entirety. You should download it somewhere (I'm not sure where you're from, where I live now downloading for personal use is not illegal). I'm not sure you will find it with English subtitles though.

If you want to get to know Goran Bregovic 's music, I recommend heartily "White Cat, Black cat".

Jack said...

Sounds good. I'll get right on it. I live in a place (USA) where downloads are illegal for any reason unless a) their paid for, b) their given away, or c) it's for fair use commentary. (Or something like that). I'm sure I can track down a (locally) legit copy.

La lanterna dei sogni said...

Great film and great music!
Saluti from Italy!

Jack said...

Hi from the US! Saluti!

Espana said...

Great movie, i love it CONGRATULATIONS!!!