The Pied Piper of Hutzovina

Reviewer: Maria Komodore
Rating (out of 5): ****

According to her own commentary on this new DVD, Czech filmmaker Pavla Fleischer decided to make The Pied Piper of Hutzovina after taking a drunken car ride around Prague in 2004 with Eugene Hütz—the frontman of gypsy punk/hip-hop, New York-based band Gogol Bordello. Apparently she was so smitten by his boisterous but lively personality (not to mention his incredible sense of fashion), that making a film about him was the only excuse she could come up with to draw his attention and make him spend some time with her, hoping that he shared the same romantic interest towards her as she did for him.

To believe that Fleischer went into all that trouble, just so that Hütz would return her affections is somewhat far fetched. Yet, watching this documentary that takes us from London (where the director resides) and New York, to Kiev, Moscow, and Siberia where the successful band leader attempts to reconnect with his gypsy roots, one soon understands where Fleischer is coming from. Hütz has plenty of charm and charisma, and following him in his musical exchanges with gypsies who live in camps in Carpathia, and in meeting with his heroes, friends, and family, is truly an enjoyable experience.

Of course, the musician (a performer by nature), is no stranger to the movie lens. In 2005 Hütz starred opposite Elijah Wood in Everything is Illuminated (this year he's also featured in Madonna's directorial debut Filth and Wisdom), which might explain his movie-star quality and his ease with the camera.

But no matter what Fleischer's true intentions in making her documentary were, and regardless of not knowing for sure how much what we see is Hütz acting or him actually exposing his true self, The Pied Piper of Hutzovina is an interesting homage/introduction to Gypsy music, and an intriguing exploration of the notion of performance.

The DVD also contains a worthy 20-minute-long featurette with footage that didn't make it into The Pied Piper of Hutzovina and which may (or may not) present a different side of Hütz than the one shown in the film.