Its title, along with the presence of horror royalty Asia Argento, might conjure images of caped bloodsuckers but Tony Gatlif's film is not concerned with the myth but the equally engrossing reality of the Transylvanian landscape. It begins with one woman’s obsessive search for the lover who abandoned her in France. Beautiful, haunted, pregnant Zingarina (Asia Argento) finally locates the temperamental Romanian musician in a Transylvanian bar, only for him to inexplicably reject her. Thereafter, Zingarina casts aside her protective friend, Marie (Amira Casar) and embraces a rootless, unencumbered gypsy existence. After her initial companion, a street child, abandons her, she hooks up with Tchango (Birol Ünel), a wheeler-dealing drifter proficient in several languages. Together they journey through strange incidents and colourful characters, sharing what the press notes described as 'the joyful and melancholic notes in the music of life.'
Story-wise, Transylvania is hard to classify. Wayward, boisterous, evocative, sometimes meandering, occasionally frustrating, it is less a straightforward narrative than an attempt to translate gypsy spirit and culture into pure cinema. Many scenes celebrate music, dance, and the expression of raw emotion that seems central to gypsy culture. Fiery performances from Argento and Biro Ünel occasionally pitch into hysteria, but honestly represent characters driven foremost by passion. Their scenes together have a welcome spontaneity. Such capricious protagonists melded to a defiantly picaresque narrative will test some viewers’ patience. Characters come and go, their motivations often frustratingly vague. However, Transylvania is not as ramshackle as it appears. It is structured, however loosely, around a cycle of abandonment: Zingarina is abandoned by her lover; she in turn abandons Marie; is abandoned again by the little girl; then runs out on Tchango, who faces a choice of either going after her or continuing alone. Gatlif captures the strange, unsettling nature of the landscape but also the vibrant humanity of its people. A filmmaker with a strong affinity for outsiders (several of his past works feature gypsy protagonists), he includes the highs and lows, the prejudice they encounter as well as the camaraderie. He includes welcome moments of off-kilter humour: Tchango and Zingarina’s coitus interruptus by a hungry bear; the baby’s delivery where Zingarina mistakes three helpful midwives for witches; and her spontaneous sparring match with Tchango - a chance for Asia to show off her kickboxing moves from xXx (2002).
No stranger to portraying passionate, headstrong women Argento was a good choice for Gatlif’s first female protagonist. The script has Zingarina prone to outbursts of pointless screaming, but Argento overcomes such lapses and commands the screen. Her wordless, improvised reactions during the mesmerizing exorcism scene - where Zingarina is bathed in milk while the congregation drives out the devil in her - encompass a career-best performance. One wonders though, what will Zingarina’s ceaseless consumption of booze and cigarettes do to her baby?
