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Asia Argento, Birol ??nel, Amira Casar, Alexandra Beaujard, Marco Castoldi ... see more see more... , Beata Palya

An Italian woman intent on tracking down the Romany musician who impregnated her becomes lost in a world of Gypsies in director Tony Gatlif's meditative road drama. Convinced that her one-time lover M... read more read more...ilan (Marco Castoldi) has been deported by French authorities and determined to let him know about his unborn child, Zingarina (Asia Argento), travels to Romania in the company of her motherly friend Marie (Amira Casar) in hopes of seeking out the elusive musician. Though Zingarina does eventually track Milan to a remote village festival, the rejection she is faced with soon drives the troubled mother-to-be to ditch her friend Marie during the trip back to France. Now wandering the Romanian countryside as her future grows ever more bleak, Zingarina enters into a tentative romance with itinerant trader Tchangalo (Birol Ünel), whose gruff exterior masks a sensual inner beauty. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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78% liked it

2,565 ratings

Critics

74% liked it

19 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Tony Gatlif

Release Date: May 28, 2006

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DVD Release Date: August 14, 2007

Stats: 158 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (158)

  • vierasesine
    March 27, 2010
    vierasesine
    Dancing, singing and music are a huge part of this film. Almost everybody either sings or dances in this film, and yet this is not a musical. And even though this isn't exactly a happy, cheery film, largely thanks to the music it is still very vibrant and full of life...no matter... read more how gritty that life may be.

    Some say this film is supposed to be about gypsy persecution (there are a few scenes that hint at that) but, to me, it's more like a weird kind of road movie. Some also complain about it not being realistic, but as far as I know, the director never claimed it to be. In fact it is the exact opposite. In my opinion, it is about Zingarina's escape from reality in order to rediscover herself. Think Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz, only for adults.
  • drago25
    July 13, 2008
    drago25
    The only reason I sought out this film was due to it starring Birol Ünel, who I fell completely in love with in 2004's Head-On. And while that fact remains Transylvania's most redeeming factor for me, I'm still glad to have seen it as its a pretty good film on its own. The centr... read moreal character of the film is Zingarina (played by Asia Argento, daughter of legendary horror director Dario Argento), a French woman who travels to Transylvania to track down Milan, her boyfriend who she thought had been deported suddenly. I've never seen Asia in a role of any real substance before, so this was a pleasant surprise, as she does an excellent job. She plays the woman driven to the brink by love as being racked with a controlled chaos, which is well conveyed in the tragic defiance that seems to emit naturally from her beautiful face. I'm pretty sure I could watch Birol Ünel just standing in a field smoking a cigarette for two hours and I'd love it, but he's also good here. Unfortunately, the film loses any sense of focus from about half-way through. While this is somewhat appropriate due to the fact that the two main characters clearly don't follow any set life path, it is still the film's chief flaw. However, this is somewhat redeemed by the fact that, despite this, the film continues to breed some great moments and remains brimming with beautiful imagery. The whole thing is also continually shrouded in mysticism and Transylvanian Gypsy culture and that makes it always an interesting watch, at the very least. Despite its flaws, this is a film worth checking out.
  • neffielee
    April 3, 2009
    neffielee
    A movie called Transylvania that is not about vampires!

    What it is, is a poignant film about a pregnant woman, magnificently portrayed by Asia Argento, who travels to Romania with a friend to find her lover, who left her in France. Once brutally rejected, she escapes her fr... read moreiend and embraces a gypsy lifestyle until meeting up with another lost soul.

    A powerful, raw, emotional journey of a woman letting go to find the happiness she seeks.

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Critic Reviews

Bernard Besserglik
October 18, 2006
Bernard Besserglik, Hollywood Reporter

A love story with star actors and a bigger budget heightens the mainstream appeal of Tony Gatlif's ethnic road musical.

Leslie Felperin
May 30, 2006
Leslie Felperin, Variety

Seemingly semi-improvised dialogue is kept mostly to a minimum, which is just as well because some of it's awful. Full Review

Andrew L. Urban
October 4, 2008
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile

The mood, the music and the melancholy remain true to Gatlif's signature, but there is a sense of incompleteness about the film which detracts from it. Full Review

Urban Cinefile Critics
January 28, 2008
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

Perhaps Tony Gatlif's oddest film to date, it's a kind of road trip with so few borders that it's easy to get lost along the way. The plot is as obtuse as its mix of languages Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
November 14, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No vampires. Full Review

Rich Cline
August 10, 2007
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

A remarkably gutsy odyssey. Full Review

Derek Malcolm
August 10, 2007
Derek Malcolm, This is London

The whole is lively and colourful but those who know Gatlif 's work may feel they've seen it all before. If you haven't, you may be more impressed. Full Review

Anthony Quinn
August 10, 2007
Anthony Quinn, Independent

Gatlif seems literally to make it up as he goes along, a modus operandi that works fine in the impromptu musical interludes but fails utterly in terms of drama. Full Review

Nigel Andrews
August 10, 2007
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

When not hyperkinetic, the film is stone-cold dull. Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
August 10, 2007
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

Gatlif is thrilled by the apparently inexhaustible energy of Romany music; a little of it goes quite a long way. But it's beautifully shot. Full Review

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  • Who played the "...sweet transvestite, from transexual, Transylvania"?  Answer »
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