World music filmmaker Eva Ma here takes her camera to the south of Spain for a practically ethnological dive into flamenco music and culture. Viewers of more than one flamenco documentary (and there have been a handful) have likely heard laments that "authentic" flamenco is a rare, dying art. Library patrons here may have as close an experience to authentic flamenco as the 21st century can offer, with all-Spanish dialogue and narration conducted by "cantaor" Antonio de la Malena in the fields, communities, small-stage venues and concert halls of Jerez de la Frontera, a city considered birthplace of flamenco.
The oft-agonized vocalizations, haunting guitar fingerings, "palmas" hand-claps, and ritually formal dance that comprise flamenco arose from the wide-roaming Romani peoples of northern India. Their circuitous wanderings took them to Spain to settle, where they formed the "gitano" minority.
Romani melodies and dance fused with the local Spanish folk stylings to produce flamenco. This is not happy fiddling. Flamenco ballads (many wailed in no-longer extant dialects) convey not only romantic pain but racial diaspora, bereavement, prison, the rigors of farm and mine labor — even travails of being a slave oarsman on board a Spanish galleon in past eras. Gitanos were often persecuted by the ruling monarchy, particularly the storied Ferdinand and Isabella. We hear that they channeled their pain into flamenco, not political uprising.
With a leisurely pace and many performances in real-time (some capturing flamenco greats who have since passed away), this is not for the casual viewer, although it should certainly give newcomers a taste of flamenco's origins (if not necessarily a how-to of the techniques).
The bookending sequence of a little girl's delight at flamenco dancing does try to convey that traditional flamenco has a future — as does de la Malena's observation that in a modern world of pandemics, economic malaise, and refugees, this emotional form of expression still has much anguish from which to draw.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
The all-Spanish dialogue may limit some patron browsing but can still make this a good choice for collections serving pan-Hispanic communities. Music and dance shelves are obvious amphitheaters, and European travel sections may also lend an ear.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
In addition to the music/dance performance elements, studies in world cultures and history could make use of the music-skewed ethnographic look at the much-mythologized people from India colloquially and their Spain offshoots.
What type of classroom would this documentary resource be suitable for?
The longish beyond-classroom run time and pacing (and non-English dialogue) could discourage younger grades, though a 28-minute condensed version is announced as an option. Little or nothing here should give offense, in junior-high levels on up.