It is has been quite some time since seeing the work of director Joshua Marston. Outside of a segment in the anthology New York, I Love You, his work hasn’t hit the big screen since the Oscar-nominated Maria Full of Grace. He finally returns this year with the family drama The Forgiveness of Blood. Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival (and nabbing a Silver Bear for Best Screenplay), it is has gone on to appear at Telluride, Toronto, London and more.
The trailer has hit via Apple and it looks like a tense drama with strong characters, not unlike his previous film. I haven’t heard much buzz for it outside of festivals, so I wonder if it lives up to his other work, but we’ll be able to check it out next month via IFC Films. See the trailer and poster below for the film starring Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Laçej, Refet Abazi, Ilire Vinca Çelaj and Çun Lajçi.
Synopsis:
Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival, the powerful second feature from Joshua Marston (MARIA FULL OF GRACE) tells the story of an Albanian family caught up in a blood feud. Nik (Tristan Halilaj) is a carefree teenager in a small town with a crush on the school beauty and ambitions to start his own small internet business. His world is suddenly up-ended when his father becomes entangled in a dispute that leaves a fellow villager murdered. According to a centuries-old code of law known as the Kanun, Nik’s family owes a life in return. Nik finds himself the prime target and becomes confined to home while his younger sister Rudina (Sindi Lacej) is forced to leave school and take over their father’s business. Marston transports us into a world rarely seen on screen, where tradition and modernity clash putting young lives in the balance.
The Forgiveness of Blood hits theaters February 24th, 2012.