“I piss on those who want to take away our music and our freedom.”
For French-Algerian director Tony Gatlif the most significant inspiration for his new film Djam has to be rebetiko, a music which, unlike any other, signifies exile, but also resilience. As our world, especially Europe, experiences a steady influx of immigrants, new cultures and lifestyles, influencing our ways of life. The story of rebetiko, or rembetiko, is one which can be seen as a parable on this phenomenon, especially the potential it has to offer. Regarding its history, rebetiko can be traced back to the 19th century. According to a Greek homepage dedicated to the music it was defined by themes such as law-breaking and love, later on it also featured consumption of hashish and opium. In terms of style and the …show more content…
While it is certainly aware of the dramas behind its images, the traces of the refugees, it stresses how people are connected, how people can find a connecting factor, even a home if necessary. In the end, home is nothing you can take away for as long as there will be people singing and dancing to music such as rebetiko. And the best thing about it is how this idea can be shared, movies such as Djam prove that point quite winderfully.
Sources:
1) The (German) press notes can be found under this address: http://www.mfa-film.de/kino/id/djam/, last accessed on: 05/17/2018
2) The interview with Tony Gatlif is also released here: https://www.filmbiznews.de/interviews-person-g/tony-gatlif/interview-mit-tony-gatlif-zum-film-djam/, last accessed on: 05/17/2018
3) Khaldi, Tarik (2017) Tony Gatlif's cinema concert sets the beach alight
4) https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/69-editions/retrospective/2017/actualites/articles/event-tony-gatlif-s-cinema-concert-sets-the-beach-alight, last accessed on: 05/17/2018
5) http://www.rebetiko.gr/history.php, last accessed on: