Gypo review by Alex Hulisz

I chose to watch the first British Dogme 95 film called “Gypo”. This film followed all the Dogme 95 rules that you have read. This film centers on a working class British family that is struggling with various issues. The teenage daughter Kelly is trying to raise a baby, there is a very distant relationship between the parents, and Kelly is struggling to find work in order to support her child. Things turn for a change when a Czech refugee named Tasha enters their lives.

            The purpose of this film was to show the story of how Helen befriended a Czech refugee, Tasha, through the eyes of three different characters, and the drama that unfolded at the end. I would describe this narrative pattern as a three-in-one type story. In Helen’s perspective, she would argue with Kelly about not being a responsible parent. She is tired of her monotonous life, and takes sculpture classes at night. This is where we first meet Tasha, and this relationship causes conflict in the family. At the end of her perspective, the director left the audience to interpret what happened to Tasha because she boarded a ferry and left without explanation. I thought this was an interesting way to end Helen’s perspective because it seemed that Tasha and Helen had a great relationship. Paul’s perspective was very depressing because of his melancholic and cynical character. The first time he meets Tasha, he explains why he hates refugees and throughout his perspective he constantly calls Tasha a “gypo”. At his job, he hires people off the street to help him roll carpets, and pays them cheap. He also sees a hooker, and this shows his disinterest towards his wife Helen. Tasha’s perspective fills in the missing parts of the story that were ambiguous in Helen and Paul’s perspective. Her perspective focuses on her daily struggles of harassment and her anxiety about her husband and father coming back to capture Tasha and her mother. She reveals the story of how she and Helen engaged in a lesbian romantic relationship. I suggest you watch “Gypo” to see how these three perspectives come together and how they unfold because it is unpredictable, interesting, and emotionally impacting.

            "Gypo" is a great example of how Dogme 95 incorporates powerful movies without the use of special effects and non-diegetic sound. The over-the-top special effects can often tune out the meaning purpose behind a movie because people often get distracted my fancy graphics. This helped me focus on the characters’ body language and facial expressions. I thought all the actors/actresses put on great performances because I felt their anguish during specific scenes. I thought the constant banter between Helen and her daughter Kelly depicted an accurate portrayal of how teenage girls rely too heavily on their mothers to take care of their babies. She wanted to live her typical high school life of hanging out with friends, but we never say Kelly pay much attention to the baby.
            There are elements of globalization in this film. The main element of globalization stems from the large amount of refugees in England. They are taking a lot of jobs away from people and taxes are increasing because of them. Globalization causes animosity between Tasha and Paul at the dinner table because he can’t stand the “gypos”. One particular scene that I find fascinating about globalization is when Tasha and her mother buy fish and chips. This shows that they are willing to adapt to the British culture because they know they would rather live here than be persecuted in their home country.
            Overall, I feel that Dogme 95 movies are endearing to watch because the film displayed realism and I felt that I was a by-stander watching the events of this movie unfold. This was the first Dogme 95 film I have ever seen, so at first I had difficulty getting used to the style of filming. Once I became used to the style of film, I really enjoyed it because I could focus on each of the main characters’ habits, personalities, and how each of their stories related to each other. The first 15-20 minutes of the film I was bored because there wasn’t a developing plot, but once Tasha entered, the drama started to heighten. There are elements of this movie that might make you feel uncomfortable, but they add emotional intensity to the film.