The Forgiveness of Blood

Modern world clashes with ancient law in Albania in the dark 'The Forgiveness of Blood'

By BETSY SHARKEY (Los Angeles Times)

LOS ANGELES -- "The Forgiveness of Blood," a dark saga about the clash of modern times and ancient traditions in rural Albania, is more a story of whispers when cries are what's called for with lives, livelihoods and family honor on the line.

The eye-for-an-eye price of settling such disputes, and the hope of a new generation to escape the sins of their fathers, drives cowriter-director Joshua Marston's fitful new film.

Though Marston is once again rooting around in the harsh realities of cultural mores, particularly for the young, the movie lacks the emotional jolt of his splendid "Maria Full of Grace" in 2004. For the pregnant Columbian teen in "Maria," it was both the escape promised and the toll exacted of being a drug mule. For Nik (Tristan Halilaj), the young Albanian in the middle of "Forgiveness," it is the repercussions of his father's fight, one that leaves the teenager a virtual prisoner in his own home.The film opens with the contrasting realities of Nik's life. He's a typical teenager, finishing up high school, obsessing over his looks, flirting with a classmate. He's also the oldest son, helping his father, Mark (Refet Abazi), hitch an ox to the wagon, which is both the family's main source of income and its only transportation. His father's days are spent delivering fresh-baked bread around the village, while Nik spends his texting friends, retooling computers and dreaming of opening an Internet cafe.

Those dreams disappear as a result of Mark's short fuse - an argument over bruised egos and disputed land that ends in a death. An uncle is jailed, Mark goes into hiding and Nik's life is suddenly on the line. The plot turns on a 15th century code still practiced in Albania today that gives a murder victim's family the right to take the life of the accused, or in his place, another male in the family. The one caveat is that home is a safe haven, with Nik becoming one of the countless boys forced to live inside while the feuds drag on.

Marston, who co-wrote the script with Andamion Murataj, focuses much of his attention on just how isolating and endless that sort of house arrest can feel. Working with director of photography Rob Hardy ("The First Grader"), the filmmaker uses a documentary style to give the film a day-in-the-life feel. The claustrophobia of confinement and Nik's growing frustration is there in the ball endlessly bounced against the living room wall, or the drawing scratched on another next to his bed.

The film was shot on location in Northern Albania, and the character of the locale plays into the story, with the modest houses set up like tiny fortresses behind high walls and locked gates, all ringed by open fields. You can almost hear the actors' breathing deepen when the action moves outside.

Although Nik's plight is the spine, the film also explores the ways in which the blood feud shifts the entire family dynamics. His teenage sister Rudina (an excellent Sindi Lacej) takes over the ox and her father's route, his younger brother stops talking, a mediator stops by to offer his services, for a price.

Halilaj is at his best as a sullen teenager angry that his life has been upended. But Lacej is the one who gives the film its emotional core, bringing Rudina's fear and resilience to life whether bartering for cigarettes to sell for extra money or navigating around the feuding cousins in a rural outback where she's related to almost everyone.

But as boredom sets in for Nik, it settles into the film as well, leaving everyone at loose ends for long stretches. Unlike the grip of "Maria," in "Forgiveness," the conflict - between father and son, the old ways versus new - never quite takes hold.

The Forgiveness of Blood

Opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by Joshua Marston; written by Mr. Marston and Andamion Murataj; director of photography, Rob Hardy; edited by Malcolm Jamieson; music by Jacobo Lieberman and Leonardo Heiblum; production design by Tommaso Ortino; costumes by Emir Turkeshi; produced by Paul Mezey; released by Sundance Selects. In Albanian, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes. This film is not rated.

WITH: Tristan Halilaj (Nik), Sindi Lacej (Rudina), Refet Abazi (Mark), Ilire Vinca Celaj (Drita) and Cun Lajci (Ded).

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/23/3447638/modern-world-clashes-with-ancient.html#storylink=cpy