Gypo (film)

Gypo
DVD cover
Directed byJan Dunn (not credited, per Dogme rules)
Written byJan Dunn
StarringPauline McLynn,
Chloe Sirene
Paul McGann
Distributed byLionsgate[1]
Release date
  • 2005 (2005)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£300,000

Gypo /ˈdʒɪpoʊ/ is a 2005 British independent film written and directed by Jan Dunn. Its story details the breakdown of a family in a small town in Britain, told in three narratives. Within a structured screenplay the dialogue throughout was improvised.

Although the movement was dissolved in 2005, the filmmakers continued to develop independent and experimental films using or influenced the concept, which being the first film made in the post-Dogme 95 movement.

Plot

Gypo follows the disintegration of a working‑class family in a small English coastal town after their teenage daughter befriends a young Romani refugee from the Czech Republic. The story is told through three overlapping perspectives — Paul, Helen, and Tasha — with key events revisited from each character’s point of view, exposing contradictions in memory and motive. As the friendship between the daughter and Tasha develops, neighborhood suspicion, institutional indifference, and private tensions within the household escalate into confrontations that reveal prejudice, fear, and personal failings.[2]

The film's Rashomon‑like structure forces the audience to weigh competing versions of the same incidents, gradually uncovering hidden motives and small betrayals that contribute to the family's breakdown. Stylistically, Gypo employs a naturalistic, improvisatory approach influenced by Dogme 95, using handheld camerawork and improvised dialogue to create a documentary‑adjacent immediacy. The climax dramatizes the social and personal consequences for both the family and Tasha, and the film closes on an ambiguous note that resists tidy moral resolution.

Production

The production filmed entirely in Thanet in Kent at a variety of locations including East Kent College, Kingsgate Bay, Margate, Pegwell Bay, Port of Ramsgate, Ramsgate, Royal Harbour Hotel and the Wig & Pen pub.[3]

Cast

Reception

In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "A warm and generous performance from Pauline McLynn carries this minimalist Dogme movie by Jan Dunn...", criticizing it for having "a bit of shouty youth-theatre improv acting", but praising the movie for its twists and depiction of Margate "as a place of pretty cold comfort for asylum seekers", comparing it to Last Resort.[4] Empire's Anna Smith gave the film the same score, comparing it to Last Resort as well, finding that with "time and patience, however, it’s a rewarding insight into cross-cultural friendships and their ability to change lives."[5] ViewLondon gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, comparing the film's narrative structure to Rashomon, concluding it "also makes some thought-provoking points regarding society's attitude to asylum-seekers."[6]

Awards

Plus two other nominations and Special Mention at Torino International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

References

  1. ^ "Gypo (2005)". BBFC. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  2. ^ Nahmod, David Alexander (18 October 2006). "Working-class heroines". Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024.
  3. ^ Kent Film Office (4 February 2006). "Kent Film Office Gypo Article".
  4. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (20 October 2006). "Gypo". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  5. ^ Smith, Anna (29 September 2006). "Gypo Review". Empire.
  6. ^ Turner, Matthew (18 December 2006). "Gypo - London Movie Review". www.viewlondon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
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