Gypo Review

The first British film to be made adhering to the strict rules of Dogme95 has arrived - and it's a bare and basic story about the life of a Czech Romany refugee and the troubles she faces adjusting to her new life in North East Kent. Told from three overlapping perspectives, director Jan Dunn's film follows Tasha (Chloe Sirene), a refugee living with her mother Irina (Rula Lenska) in a Thanet caravan park. Desperate to escape their abusive husbands back home, the two women are trying to make the best of their new lives with Tasha studying to be a hairdresser and Irina cleaning various Margate guesthouses. However not all the locals are happy to have them there and make their feelings all too clear. Meanwhile housewife Helen (Pauline McLynn) is reaching the end of her tether with her bigoted husband (Paul McGann) and their selfish single-mother daughter and is looking for something more out of life. And that may just come out of a friendship with a Tasha and her mother.

As with many Dogme95 movies, "Gypo" is raw and thought-provoking while some aspects are as chilling as the brutal coastal wind that whips through the Thanet streets. But it also suffers from the bit of a lack of direction at times - but perhaps that is to be expected when the actors are responsible for the dialogue in every scene.

But what "Gypo" really has going for it is Dunn's willingness to confront issues that are too often overlooked or ignored. Some of the situations and prejudices she explores may not be pretty but at least she's addressing attitudes that are all too genuine. Hopefully her film will provoke a some discussion.