Review of The Forgiveness of Blood (2011) by Mikael K — 21 Sep 2011

A tale of human weakness set in the beautiful landscape of an Albanian mountain village where the rivalry between two farmer families escalates into a man slaughter. The plot centers around two teenagers, Nik and Rudina, the oldest children of the guilty family whose life is torn apart as they find themselves on the receiving end of a vendetta.

The film is smart and contains interesting, rather low-key scenes that vividly describe the annihilation of anything normal in the charactersâ(TM) lives. Then there are some too slow moments, and the story never gains the momentum that might have turned this into something excellent. The use of young characters works though, as their relative detachment from the bloody traditions gives the audience a point of view that understands the sheer senselessness of whatâ(TM)s going on. On the other hand- especially in Nikâ(TM)s case- we are shown how communal pressure and frustration feed the infatuation with violence and extremism.

âThe Forgiveness¬ of Bloodâ? is not as engaging as it might have been, and traditional vengeance as the subject matter is extremely annoying in its sheer idiocy. The flick does however feel real and thankfully avoids any sugar coating or deus ex machina -plotting. This is about harsh reality which people have to deal with themselves.