Whether it's "gypsy punk," as founder and front
man Eugene Hutz says, or any other music- and band-based movie, it boils
down to an inescapable truth: If you like the group and its sound,
you'll like the movie, if it's "Gogol Bordello Non Stop," at Webster
University's Moore Auditorium through Sunday, or anything else. If the
music is not for you, make the popcorn in the microwave at home.
man Eugene Hutz says, or any other music- and band-based movie, it boils
down to an inescapable truth: If you like the group and its sound,
you'll like the movie, if it's "Gogol Bordello Non Stop," at Webster
University's Moore Auditorium through Sunday, or anything else. If the
music is not for you, make the popcorn in the microwave at home.
There is a certain
magnetism to Hutz and his group in this 2008 documentary by Margarita
Jimeno, and there can be a visual appeal to this, and other, concert
films. After all, the view on a screen is usually far better than that
in the midst of a bunch of screaming fans, jumping up and down in one's
sight lines. Jimeno's camera work is good, with plenty of closeups,
backstage and bus-riding sequences and interviews with many Bordello
performers, or residents, as well as Hutz himself.
magnetism to Hutz and his group in this 2008 documentary by Margarita
Jimeno, and there can be a visual appeal to this, and other, concert
films. After all, the view on a screen is usually far better than that
in the midst of a bunch of screaming fans, jumping up and down in one's
sight lines. Jimeno's camera work is good, with plenty of closeups,
backstage and bus-riding sequences and interviews with many Bordello
performers, or residents, as well as Hutz himself.
The group appears to
be about as well organized as a group of puppies at play, but there
obviously is method to Hutz' well-thought-out madness. The costumes, the
sexual messages on display, the lyrics of "Immigrant Punk," are more
rehearsed than the band itself, but that, too, may occur behind the
scenes. Oren Kaplan, Sergey Ryabtsev, Yuri Yunakov, Eliot Ferguson and
others strut proudly and play loudly. The music, with klezmer overtones
in frequent use of violin, clarinet and accordion, can be fun, and a
brief description of Roma (Gypsy) history is interesting. But it's Hutz,
wide-eyed and disheveled, who holds everything together, and Jimeno has
assembled much footage into an almost-coherent story.
be about as well organized as a group of puppies at play, but there
obviously is method to Hutz' well-thought-out madness. The costumes, the
sexual messages on display, the lyrics of "Immigrant Punk," are more
rehearsed than the band itself, but that, too, may occur behind the
scenes. Oren Kaplan, Sergey Ryabtsev, Yuri Yunakov, Eliot Ferguson and
others strut proudly and play loudly. The music, with klezmer overtones
in frequent use of violin, clarinet and accordion, can be fun, and a
brief description of Roma (Gypsy) history is interesting. But it's Hutz,
wide-eyed and disheveled, who holds everything together, and Jimeno has
assembled much footage into an almost-coherent story.
Today through
Sunday at the Moore Auditorium, Webster University.
Sunday at the Moore Auditorium, Webster University.
– Joe