User Reviews

With two actors from the world of glamour, Dance-hero Joaquin Cortes and super-model Laetitia Casta (not a Miss France but Madama Marianne) you'll wonder what this film will turn out to be.

A Film Noir is nothing more than a chain of clichés which might become a string of pearls. In this case the chain is of 24 karat gold.

The cinematographer, Hans Burmann, is great with light, using it crude and clever, creative and beautiful. And the camera-movements (crane-shots; steadycam) are a delight. It gives something extra to the already beautiful locations and sets of Anton Laguna. The editing is nicely nervous and the story is thin but swift, with some nice touches. Atmosphere is everywhere and that must be the work of director Manuel Palacios.

There is a lot of music in this film (Tomatito for instance, and Rosario and many others). Too much? Well, in the culture GITANO portrays, music is a last stronghold, an anchor with perhaps a chain that's an inch too short... Beautiful & warm-blooded entertainment.

The flick deals with the confrontation by two groups of gypsy clans , it starts when Andres Heredia (the Flamenco dancer Joaquin Cortés) , recently released from a prison sentence for two years returns to Granada where things have gone out of control in his absence . Later on , Andres becoming infatuated with Lola (Marta Belaustegui who sings two enjoyable songs) , a night club singer , and his sister-in-law. To complicate matters, Andres wishes to forget his past but a gypsy clan led by Isidoro (Manuel De Blas) seeks vengeance against faction led by Junco (Jose Luis Gomez) . Then , there takes place a violent and bloody fight . Meanwhile , Lucia Junco (Letitia Casta) , Andres' spouse , has become involved with a faction that puts Andres at odds with his own responsibilities . After that , a police inspector (Ramon Barea) investigates the criminal deeds about the gypsy struggles .

From start to finish this Flamenco film contains drama , a noir intrigue about gypsy feud , thrills , a loving triangle and a lot of songs . Passable Spanish film with acceptable performances by the secondary cast , though the main cast , Joaquin Cortes-Letitia Casta are wooden , both of them perform some strong love scenes . This is a thriller/drama that keeps you interested and expecting , including a tragic love story . A newcomer Joaquin Cortés star in the sort of story we've seen sometime before , a young newly released from prison seeks reckoning against former enemies , but one that is always fun when executed with style and filmmaker Jesus Palacios certainly seems to have that . Furthermore , it packs a good support cast full of notorious Spanish actors as Lola Cardona , Jose Manuel Lorenzo who also produced , Pilar Bardem , Javier Bardem's mother , Ramon Barea , Juan Fernandez , Gines Garcia Millan , Manuel De Blas and , of course , Jose Luis Gomez , he is simply awesome and steals the show as a leader gypsy . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by excellent and veteran cameraman Hans Burman , glamorously filmed in Granada and its Alhambra . Emotive as well as evocative musical score by Eva Gancedo , including Flamenco songs sung by Antonio Carmona , Azucar Moreno , Tomatito , Rosario Flores , Navajita Platea , among others . The flick is based on a novel titled ¨Gitano¨ by Arturo Perez Reverte who also wrote the screenplay along with the director Manuel Palacios . Reverte is a Spanish journalist and TV reporter, who turned to writer and today the best-selling author in Spain and the best-selling Spanish author in the world . Famous author of "Alatriste" novels as he carried out quite a lot of the work of investigating historical documents relating to 17th Century Madrid. His novels have the common thread of being based on real historical times and that in each case a great deal of investigation goes into the making of his stories, as well as the fact that he has had to learn a great deal on topics ranging from chess-playing to historical first-editions from 16th Century Dutch masters to Informatics and even swordsmanship . His extraordinary imaginative abilities have been able to produce well-written adventure stories , being adapted for cinema the following novels : The Fencing Master , Territorio Comanche , The ninth gate , La Tabla De Flandes , Gitano and Carta Esferica . The motion picture well produced by Antonio Cardenal was professionally directed by Manuel Palacios . He is one of the most gripping Spanish directors , being an expert filmmaker of documentary and TV series such as ¨Cuentame Como Paso¨, ¨ Desaparecida¨, ¨U.C.O.¨ , ¨Marisol¨ and occasionally for cinema as ¨Rosa De Piedra¨ , ¨Chavela¨ and this ¨Gitano¨ .