The path cuts across a sparse field, its entrance blocked by
stones. It doesn't look like much, but this site is the catalyst for a feud that
tears a family apart in The Forgiveness of Blood. When Mark (Refet Abazi) finds
his usual route blocked, he takes issue with his neighbour Sokol, who now owns
the land that once belonged to Mark's family. The feud escalates between the
two families, and within a couple of days Sokol is dead, while Mark has
disappeared and his brother Zef has been arrested for murder. I should mention
at this point that The Forgiveness of Blood takes place in a remote village in
northern Albania, and it is a place where people take justice into their own
hands.
Blood feuds may seem like an archaic tradition to many of
us, but in this region they still thrive, and it has been estimated that more
than 10,000 such conflicts have claimed lives of men in Albania over the past twenty
years. The tradition at the centre of this film's plot is "The Kanun", which
stipulates that Sokol's family has the right to kill Mark's male offspring in
the patriarch's absence, so his 17 year-old son Nik (Tristan Halilaj)
immediately becomes the target. With his life in the balance, Nik essentially
becomes a prisoner in his own home, unable to leave the boundaries of his home
until a truce has been reached. The Forgiveness of Blood explores this
situation through the eyes of Nik and his sister Rudina (Sindi Lacej), both of
whom feel the full weight of familial responsibility bearing down on their
young shoulders.
The Forgiveness of Blood is the second film from American
director Joshua Marston, who made his debut in 2004 with the Mexico-set drugs
drama Maria Full of Grace. The film focused on the experiences of a teenage drug
mule, and this picture also deals with youngsters forced to deal with
situations that they have been thrust into by their elders. Much of the tension
in The Forgiveness of Blood is drawn from the contrast between the attitudes of
its young characters and the old-world society they live in. Nik is like any
other teenager, he just wants to play computer games, text his friends and meet
girls, but he finds himself trapped by a dispute he never wanted any part of.
Similarly, his sister needs to put her life on hold to go out and become the
family's breadwinner, taking on her father's bread run and facing the glares of
an intimidating mans' world.
Marston's screenplay, put together with the help of Albanian
filmmaker Andamion Murataj, takes a measured, low-key approach to this violent
tradition. All bloodshed and confrontations occur offscreen, with Marston
instead emphasising the everyday sense of threat that hangs over this family. The
film is claustrophobic and compelling, with Marston crafting a film that works
as both a character study and an exploration of a wider culture. At its core,
The Forgiveness of Blood may follow the traditional framework of a
coming-of-age tale, but the curious spirit and compassion that Marston has shown in taking
us to such unfamiliar and intriguing territory makes it feel disarmingly fresh.
We can only hope it won't be another seven years before this talented filmmaker
returns from his travels with more stories to tell.