Product Notes
American director Joshua Marston broke out in 2004 with his jolting Oscar-nominated Maria Full of Grace about a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule. In his remarkable follow-up The Forgiveness of Blood he turns his camera on another corner of the world: contemporary northern Albania a place still troubled by the ancient custom of interfamilial blood feuds. From this reality Marston sculpts a fictional narrative about a teenage brother and sister physically and emotionally trapped in a cycle of violence a result of their father's entanglement with a rival clan over a piece of land. The Forgiveness of Blood is a tense and perceptive depiction of a place where tradition and progress have an uneasy coexistence as well as a dynamic coming-of-age drama.
Product Reviews
A young man faces a life paying for the misdeeds of his elders in this drama. Nik (Tristan Halilaj) is a teenager growing up in a small village in Albania; he has little interest in his father's baking business, and is more concerned with surfing the Internet, hanging out with his friends and trying to impress Bardha (Zana Hasaj), a pretty girl he knows from school. But whatever future Nik might hope for is put on hold when his father Mark (Refet Abazi) revives a long-standing feud over a land dispute with his neighbor Sokol (Veton Osmani), leading to a violent confrontation that claims Sokol's life. An ancient Albanian tradition has it that the survivors of a violent murder can kill a man from the family that committed the crime without consequence; however, they can only do so in the open, so Nik and the other men in his household are only safe as long as they stay in their home. As Nik's sister Rudina (Sindi Lacej) takes over the family business, his world is reduced to the inside of the family residence, which proves to be almost as maddening as the possibility of being murdered. American filmmaker Joshua Marston shot The Forgiveness Of Blood on location in Albania using a cast of local actors; the film was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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The Forgiveness of Blood [Criterion Collection] |
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Drama, Foreign Language & International |
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Foreign, Drama |
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16 October 2012 |
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Tristan Halilaj(Nik), Sindi Lacej(Rudina), Refet Abazi(Mark), Ilire Vinca Celaj(Drita), Cun Lajci(Ded) |
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Joshua Marston |
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Not Rated |
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DVD |
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2190 |
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715515099813 |
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372066X |
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16 October 2012 |
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CRITERION COLLECTION ( CTIN ) |
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109 |
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1: USA, Canada |
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1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen), NTSC |
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English |
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Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround, Albanian |
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Discs:1 ~ Format:Ntsc ~ Region:1 |
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Alfred Lisi(Fatmir), Arben Buhaj(Burim), Arlind Lleshi(Loran), Cun Lajci(Ded), Edmond Pepkolaj(Police Captain), Eduard Beqiri(Cigarette Vendor #3), Elsajed Tallalli(Dren), Erjon Mani(Tom), Esmeralda Gjonlulaj(Bora), Fatmir Shabaj(Horse Buyer), Geg Zefi(Afrim), Gjin Basha(Hasan Pema), Haxhi Brati(Cigarette Vendor #2), Ibrahim Ymeri(School Director), Ilire Vinca Celaj(Drita), Injac Marku(Cigarette Vendor #1), Isuf Duraj(Gjergj), Kol Zefi(Shpend), Luan Jaha(Zef), Pjeter Noshi(Besim), Refet Abazi(Mark), Ruzhdi Pirnaq(Genc), Sabri Haxhija(Lex), Selman Lokaj(Kreshnik), Servete Haxhija(Mara), Sindi Lacej(Rudina), Tristan Halilaj(Nik), Veton Osmani(Sokol), Xhevdet Shima(Mr. Skendaj), Zana Hasaj(Bardha) |
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Cinematographer:Rob Hardy, Co-producer:Andamion Murataj, Co-producer:Gwen Bialic, Composer (Music Score):Jacobo Lieberman, Composer (Music Score):Leonardo Heiblum, Director:Joshua Marston, Executive Producer:Domenico Procacci, Executive Producer:Eric Abraham, Executive Producer:Hunter Gray, Executive Producer:Janine Gold, Executive Producer:Tyler Brodie, Producer:Paul S. Mezey, Screenwriter:Andamion Murataj, Screenwriter:Joshua Marston |
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