A Tickle in the Heart [DVD] [1996]

Klezmer music is a fusion of Eastern European folk tunes with jazz and other influences. It was (and is) the preferred celebratory music of Sephardic, or Eastern European Jewry around the world and is now enjoying a new upswing in popularity. In fact, it is popular in places and among groups far beyond its Gypsy/Jewish origins earlier in this century. Not only has it become well enough known so that riffs from it are heard in a song by folk/country musician Emmylou Harris, but it is now quite fashionable in Germany, which is where this documentary was made. The Epstein Brothers form one of the oldest klezmer bands still playing, and their active retirement is the focus of this documentary. In some sense, the history of their musical association is the history of klezmer. They perform in their retirement community in Florida, but they are frequently invited to perform in New York City and Germany. Of course, the film's best highlight is its music.