Love in natural light.

DVD 

Love in natural light

gypo * Directed by Jan Dunn * Wolfe Video

Gypo wears its influences on its sleeve: the naturalism of Ken Loach, the Dogme 95 filmmaking of Lars Von Trier, even the triplicate perspective of Rashomon. More, though, than just a pastiche, Jan Dunn's film succeeds by mining deep into the lives of a working-class U.K. couple and exploring the tensions--both racial and sexual--that flare up when their daughter brings young Czech refugee Tasha into their lives.

Long-suffering matriarch Helen (Pauline McLynn) is immediately intrigued by the girl and receptive to the kindness and flattery she gets from her--more than her adulterous bigoted husband, Paul (Paul McGann), has been able to provide her with in years. As Helen blossoms under Tasha's companionship and their bond becomes sexual, Paul intercedes to get this "gypo" (a U.K. epithet for Gypsy refugees) deported--or worse.

Dunn splits the film into thirds to retell the story from each characters perspective, and though Paul's middle version is a bit superfluous, the film and its central characters come alive during Tasha's final segment. It's here that the film manages to sneak some visual poetry past the strict Dogme guidelines: Tasha noticing a trace of lipstick left by Helen on a glass, turning it to face her, then lifting it to her own lips for a silent, makeshift kiss.