Craj / Tomorrow

2005, 82 minutes

documentary

Weaving together the musical traditions are fictional guides Prince Floridippio (Giovanni Lindo Ferretti) and his loquacious servant Bimbascione (Teresa De Sio), who travel to different towns where they encounter spry older men belting out their songs in dialect ("craj" means "tomorrow" in Pugliese). Much of the pic is taken from boisterous, dance-along concert footage, interspersed with the men's tales of hardship in the poor south, where singing and dancing the tarantella were the sole sources of recreation. Guided journey can be a bit precious, but music is terrific, and tech credits, especially sound, are first-rate.

---