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When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    90
    I was thrilled and transported by it. It's a two-hour movie, and I'm only sorry it isn't two or three times as long.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    88
    This is music to gorge on, raw ethnic survival in the form of sound.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    83
    An irresistibly vibrant concert-tour documentary.
  4. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jim Ridley
    80
    More than a vibrant experiment in ethnomusical cross-pollination, it's just great fun.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    80
    As compelling as the music and concert footage is, it is the vitality of the performers as characters that enables the movie to transcend the music documentary genre.
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    80
    A potent combination of ethnography and concert film, Brit helmer Jasmine Dellal's joyous celebration of tzigane music follows the 2001 U.S. "Gypsy Caravan" tour, which showcased five bands from four countries.
  7. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    75
    Sounds great and if nothing else should help diminish the stereotype, blasted by the film's subjects, of Gypsies as little more than pickpockets whom travelers need to be wary of.
  8. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    75
    Gypsy music is the music of pain, poverty and oppression, all of which she's experienced; it's their blues.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    70
    As a music document and as a labor of unabashed love, the nonfiction feature Gypsy Caravan could hardly be better; as a movie, it could stand some improvement.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    70
    Viewers are urged to grab an aisle seat, the better to dance when the music moves them -- as it surely will.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    63
    As is, it's worth seeing, but you may get frustrated at the way Dellal raises provocative questions about ancestry and prejudice, only to lose them in the shuffle of so many mini-portraits of musicians, getting to know each other and each other's foreign yet familiar musical language, on a long 16-city tour.
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    50
    Johnny Depp puts in a cameo declaring that "most Americans believe the clichés about Gypsies." Unfortunately, the well-intentioned film never gets beyond clichés itself.
  13. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Phil Hall
    40
    The film is a bore.
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User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. TimothyS.
    6
    Great premise, but potential is not completely realized. At 110 minutes it feels longer - more editing needed. Jerky camera work is distracting. While the music is intriguing, the film did not follow through on opportunities to explain ethnic history and culture.… Full Review »
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