The Forgiveness of Blood
The Forgiveness of Blood
A story of family feuds and the honour of a bloodline. Nik is a normal 17-year-old in the last year of high school ready to embark on his first romance and the opening of his own cafe after graduation. But then a local land dispute results in his father being accused of murder, Nik and the male members of his family are forced under house arrest. Nik's sister Rudina has to leave school to take over the family business and whilst she flourishes with her new found responsibility, Nik's resentment at his enforced isolation causes him to try and end the feud even though it may cost him his life.
3.4 out of 5 based on 10 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Certificate |
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| Genre |
Drama |
| Director |
Joshua Marston |
| Cast |
Sindi Lacej, Refet Abazi, Ilire Vinca Çelaj, Tristan Halilaj |
| Studio |
Soda Pictures |
| Release Date |
August 2012 |
| Running Time |
108 mins |
| |
A story of family feuds and the honour of a bloodline. Nik is a normal 17-year-old in the last year of high school ready to embark on his first romance and the opening of his own cafe after graduation. But then a local land dispute results in his father being accused of murder, Nik and the male members of his family are forced under house arrest. Nik's sister Rudina has to leave school to take over the family business and whilst she flourishes with her new found responsibility, Nik's resentment at his enforced isolation causes him to try and end the feud even though it may cost him his life.
Reviews
The Guardian
Phil Hoad
“Joshua Marston hops on another subculture – Albanian blood feuds – and operates sensitively once again in the space between 21st-century ethnographer and enlightened genre director. ”
09/08/2012
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“The glimpse into a centuries-old community and a system of justice would be fascinating in itself, but the life of Marston's film resides in the brooding inner dramas of brother and sister. They are beautifully played by Tristan Halilaj and Sinsi Lacej, neither of whom had ever acted before.”
10/08/2012
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Empire Magazine
Patrick Peters
“Authentic, intense, gripping.”
07/08/2012
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The Times
Wendy Ide
“Two terrific performances from non-actors Tristan Halilaj and Sindi Lacej as Nik and Rudina drive the film. Nik is tortured by the glimpses of a normal teenaged life which carries on without him while the enterprising Rudina rises to the challenge of providing for her family. It’s an authentic and honest look at domestic life in desperate circumstances.”
10/08/2012
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Total Film
James Mottram
“Thoroughly researched, it smartly depicts the clash between old and new in a country aching for modernisation. Even if it lacks a stand-out turn it’s still a grippingly authentic slice of life.”
30/07/2012
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“The plot comes to a quiet boil. Then unfortunately it falls off the stove. Marston loosens his grip when it should tighten. The characters spill into inconsequence; the film, without an action consummation, bubbles meekly away, though we grimly admire the patterning of this countryside’s floor, its patch-quilt territorialism as quietly, dourly change-resistant as old kitchen linoleum.”
09/08/2012
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The Los Angeles Times
Betsy Sharkey
“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. ”
24/02/2012
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Time Out
Tom Huddleston
“There’s not nearly enough drama.”
08/08/2012
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The Observer
Philip French
“Observed with the same non-judgmental manner Marston brought to Maria Full of Grace, the film has an earthy whiff of authenticity. But it's seriously lacking in incident and dramatic drive.”
12/08/2012
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The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
“This sort of feuding apparently happens in Albania, so the film’s topic is of interest, but its drama is inert.”
12/08/2012
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