Gypsy Caravan

Jess and I went to see Gypsy Caravan last night at the Belcourt.



From the opening scene to the credits, it was beautiful. I was talking to Jess afterwards and it help me put a lot of thoughts into words. Other than salvation (of course), I believe music has to be my most favorite gift from God (and there are a LOT of things that I really appreciate). I think music has the most direct route to my heart and soul out of everything in life. It doesn’t pass through any of my brain’s filters or thoughts or rationales; it just goes straight to my heart. There’s something about it that just fills me up instantly and completely; like I’m about to explode… like if I have one more ounce of whatever this is in me, I’m going to explode… into something… and I don’t know of many other things that do that. That sounds weird, but it’s the best way I can describe it. And from the beginning of the movie to the end, that’s how I felt. It was… remarkable.

It’s a beautiful thing to see someone doing something with abandon and music is no exception. To watch these people play with just every ounce of who they are is incredibly uplifting and inspiring. They travel around and tour and send the money back home to support their families and villages. And they’re from all over the world. This one “race” came from India and spread out all over the place. So the movie documents 4 groups on tour together in the US. They’re from Romania, Macedonia, Spain, and India. And even though each of their’s music is very different from one another, they all have this underlying commonality in their life and past. It’s awesome.

The whole film is very inspiring and beautiful to see, however, there is one scene in it that just absolutely broke my heart. The oldest member of the Romanian group dies towards the end. (He was sort of the cornerstone of the group and had been playing his whole life. And you have to understand how close these people are to each other.) So as he lies inside this small house (like 3 rooms), family and friends are gathered for the viewing and mourning. And while all of this is going on, the rest of the band is standing outside his window playing their music. And they just keep playing. And they play all night and they never leave the window. They just stand there through the morning playing for their friend. And it’s… it’s beautiful. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Seeing this movie, I'm overwhelmed with joy at the thought of what God will use you for if you just get out of His way and let Him.

You probably wont be able to see this in a theater, but you should definitely Netflix it.