Váltás magyar nyelvre

Romani Kris - Gypsy Lore

A film music by Ferenc Kiss

ER-CD 027

There was once an old Gypsy who never left the hill where he lived. He never went to the inn, never read the papers, and never even watched the Dallas. He was a proud man who told many fine stories. He never went to church, even though he feared the Lord. He was blessed with three beautiful daughters whom he loved more than anything else. The two older ones found husbands, but the youngest, Sarolta, roamed the mountains and hills. She was the apple of his eye…”

Lovér – the folklore likeness of King Lear – is the proud father of three beautiful daughters and a master raconteur. He immortalises the events in his life by recounting them in the magical, enigmatic language of fairy stories, weaving plots and characters into a web that enfolds and finally absorbs him. The Hungarian governement's relocation of a gypsy settlement sparks off the relentless chain of destiny for Lovér: the enraged gypsies stab and kill the bureaucrat who comes to convince them to move. Lovér refuses to leave the place where he was born, preferring to white-wash his house as the bulldozers come to tear it down. He gives his three daughters each their share of the inheritance – on the provision that they make a public exhibition of their love, devotion and gartitude in front of all the village. When Sarolta, his favourite,  does not comply with his expectation he banishes her from his sight, dividing her share of inheritance between the other two. When he is forced to acknowledge the hideous mistake he has made, he goes on a quest to find Sarolta and to ask forgiveness of the soul of the murdered man. Lovér alone possesses the greatness of spirit to shoulder the burden of guilt and seek atonement.

The camera follows Lovér and village fool, Tamáska on their dramatic and adventurous journey against the backdrop of the Hungarian countryside – at time lush, at others stark in its beauty – to offer us the rich gift of tale as lyrical and enchanting as it is haunting  and unforgettable.

The film Romani Kris, nominated to Oscar award unites elements of fairy-tales, dreams and those of reality. These elements are well supported by the film music, composed by Ferenc Kiss which origins go back to the ancient culture and folklore of the gypsies they have a marginally status in our society.

A Bence Gyöngyössy film. Music by: Ferenc Kiss. Recording: Etnofon ZA-KI, Budapest, 1997.