AMERICAN GYPSY: A STRANGER IN EVERYBODY'S LAND

Gypsies are possibly the most consistently reviled group in Western history. One of the main reasons for this is because as a community that in the past was constantly on the move, Gypsies have steadfastly refused to integrate. To outsiders, such a stance has always seemed suspect, yet Gypsies' insularity has allowed them to maintain an almost unbroken line of tradition for hundreds of years. The subject of the film is not simply Gypsies as a whole, but the quixotic figure of Jimmy Marks, whose family began as car traders. Marks grew rich from the business, bought a house, and settled with his family as comfortable members of the Spokane, Washington community. Marks's life was ripped asunder when police, inherently suspicious of Gypsies as a group, searched his home and subjected his family to abusive treatment. The police seized a huge sum of cash, which they assumed was gained from the sale of stolen property. Marks explained that, as an important member of the local Gypsy ruling council, he acted as a bank for money that belonged to members of his community. As a result of the search, according to Gypsy tradition, Marks's home had been contaminated by outsiders and thus the family was ostracized from the Gypsy community. In response, he initiated a multi-million dollar civil suit against the city and police department