“The Forgiveness of Blood” might be the best foreign-language film that didn’t get an Oscar nomination in the category.
The movie tells a cutting tale of Albanian life, focusing on the age-old rituals surrounding the blood feud. It was filmed in Albania, in the Albanian language, with a mostly local crew. Albania chose it as its official entry into the Oscars. But another filmmaker complained, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to disqualify “Blood” — because though it was also co-written by an Albanian, it was directed by an American.
Joshua Marston looks to be creating a fascinating niche for himself. His acclaimed 2004 debut, “Maria, Full of Grace,” told the tale of a poor, pregnant Colombian teenager who takes a job as a drug mule. Marston worked as a foreign correspondent before becoming a filmmaker. He’s telling the same stories, but in a much more artful — and deeper — way.
| On screen |
| ‘The Forgiveness of Blood’ |
| 3 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej, Refet Abazi |
| Director: Joshua Marston |
| Rated: Not rated |
| Running time: 109 minutes |
In “The Forgiveness of Blood,” what should have been a petty dispute turns into a fatal confrontation that all but ends the lives not only of its players, but their families, too. A man and his brother cross land that was once theirs, but now belongs to a neighbor, as they make their daily trip to sell bread. The neighbor tries to stop them; the men kill him.
One of the pair is caught, but the other manages to go into hiding. But Albanian tradition has it that if a killer is not jailed or killed himself, someone else from his family must pay for the blood spilled. So teenager Nik (Tristan Halilaj), his younger sister, Rudina (Sindi Lacej), and the rest of their family are confined to their home, unable to leave for fear of their lives. This coming-of-age story presents its at-first-immature protagonist with a rather special situation that will teach him to be a man. Rudina must leave childhood behind, too — she quits school in search of a way to make the money needed to keep the family alive.
Movies often indicate how modernity can alter the lives of those who meet it. Here, Marston shows, in tragic detail, how a new generation struggles to escape the past thoughtlessly left to them. American moviegoers might not have heard of the language spoke here, or any of the actors who speak it. But they will certainly hear more about Joshua Marston, the man who brings his countrymen the pain of the world.
