Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Perhan is a gypsy teenager with telekinetic powers. A wealthy gypsy, Ahmed, visits the village and promises to get Perhan's sister the medical treatment she needs if they join him to Italy. Perhan soon discovers that Ahmed's business activities are in fact quite shady and he is soon lured into the elder's corrupt surroundings.
Kusturica's sprawling Romani epic is genuinely singular — its magical realist texture, immersive ethnographic detail, and anarchic vitality make it one-of-a-kind. The plot weaves folklore, tragedy, and picaresque crime with remarkable authenticity, and the non-professional leads deliver rawly convincing performances. Sven Nykvist-influenced cinematography captures a world rarely seen on film with painterly beauty. Novelty is exceptional — no film before or since has inhabited this world with such specificity. The ending, while emotionally resonant and thematically fitting, feels somewhat abrupt and cyclically predictable in its tragic arc, holding it back from the heights of the rest of the film.