Shades of Hamlet among the gypsies (the Roma): A Czech-Slovakian tale of a teenage boy who loses his father and distrusts his sleazy new stepdad. This poignant, resonant drama is equal parts neo-realism and modern Shakespearean tragedy. As Americans, most of us know little of the hardscrabble lives of contemporary gypsies, or their pariah status in Eastern Europe. A multiple prize-winner at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival last year, Gypsy limns memorable portraits, some flecked with bitter humor: the boy who dreams of going to Western Europe so that he may be mistaken for Pakistani; stolen ostriches accepted as payment in lieu of cash; the white documentary film crew whose members combine compassion with unconscious racism. -- (C) Film Forum