`GADJO DILO' FOCUSES ON GYPSY LIFE - WITH A TWIST.

Byline: Henry Sheehan Orange County Register

Gypsies, or, more politely and accurately, the Roma, have been portrayed popularly as the quintessential outsiders, largely because they are. With the entrancing ``Gadjo Dilo,'' which opened Friday, French director Tony Gatlif, who is of Gypsy origins, neatly turns the tables on this practice, telling a story in which the Gypsy culture sets the rules that outsiders must obey. In this case, the intruder is a young Frenchman, Stephane (Romain Duris), who wanders into a Gypsy village in Romania searching for Nora Luca, a singer whose hypnotic voice he has only heard on tape. Labeled ``crazy outsider'' - or gadjo dilo - he is seduced by both the lifestyle and a local beauty, finally incorporating himself into the community.

Saying all that does nothing to convey the magic of this film, which has all the sorrow, joy, anguish and ecstasy of a medley of Gypsy songs. In an earlier film, ``Latcho Drom,'' Gatlif relied almost entirely on the music, skipping across the world from the Mideast to Europe, to present a documentary record of modern Gypsy life. Here, the music doesn't have the foreground; Gatlif gives that arena to the musicians. The results are not dissimilar.

Despite the movie's persistent realism, a touch of unreality attaches itself from the outset. We meet Stephane as he trudges down a road that seems in imminent danger of being swallowed up by the flat, snow-covered Romanian countryside. His first encounter with Gypsies comes when he's passed by a wagonload of women who greet him with the most graphic sexual come-ons imaginable; that is, until the come-ons reveal themselves as pungent insults. When Stephane does make it to a town, he's locked out of the only hotel there by the Romanian owner, because of curfew; the only soul he encounters is Izidor (Isidor Serban), an angry old man chugging vodka from the bottle and cursing the Romanian villagers for sending his son to jail.

Izidor is something of a village elder in the Gypsy village on the outskirts of the town. Delighted to have a Frenchman of his own, he coaxes and coerces Stephane into remaining in his town, always holding out the promise of bringing him to Nora Luca. As Stephane becomes more involved in the everyday life of the village, increasingly entranced by the Gypsy capacity for feeling, he becomes slowly enamored of one woman. Sabina (Rona Hartner) is a bit of an outcast, having left her husband in Belgium to return to her home. Considered a virtual prostitute, she still manages a living as a dancer with the troupe of musicians Izidor leads. And, while she's intrigued by the stranger, Stephane's French reminds her of despised Belgians; their first intimacy comes when she bites him on the hand when he offers to help her carry kindling.

The movie progresses on the back of episodes, each exploring the physical and emotional underpinnings of Gypsy life. But they are unified both by Stephane's quest for the increasingly elusive Nora Luca and by his steady absorption into the village. Much of what happens is very funny; whatever nationality you may have previously credited with a gift for insult will have to take a second place to Gypsies, who apparently incorporate it even into lovemaking. Frankly, I was lost in astounded admiration.

But there's a great deal of poignancy, too. The Gypsies' physical safety is largely hostage to the tolerance of the surrounding Romanians, and tolerance is largely a virtue in short supply.

In the movie's climactic moment, the Gypsy village is besieged by a virtual pogrom. It's a shattering scene, and by the time it happens, it is utterly personalized by our identification with Stephane's integration into the village's life. Still, the movie ends on a note not just of hope, but of joy, too.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Gadjo Dilo'' (Not rated; nudity, sexuality, coarse language).

The stars: Romain Duris, Rona Hartner, Isidor Serban.

Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Tony Gatlif. Produced by Doru Mitran.

Running time: One hour, 37 minutes.

Playing: Music Hall, Beverly Hills; NuWilshire in Santa Monica.

Our rating: Three and One Half Stars.

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Photo

Photo: Wanderer Stephane (Romain Duris) and Sabina (Rona Hartner), a bit of an outcast, are attracted to one another in ``Gadjo Dilo.''