The Forgiveness of Blood

The Forgiveness Of Blood

Vengeance and revenge can be lethal and evil. In parts of Albania feuds are still in evidence. Honor killings and revenge are acceptable. There are even accepted standards and rules for the vendettas.
The location is in the back roads in Northern Albania. There are few cars. Some folk use a type of cart on two wheels pulled by a horse. Their living accommodation is simple. These are poor folk. Yet, there is some sign of modernity. Many of the youth have cell phones. One boy has a motorcycle and a few trucks are seen on the road.
One man delivers bread on his wagon. He lives with his wife, two daughters and two sons. They seem like a loving family.
The neighbor blocks the road with large stones and forces the deliveryman to take a circuitous road to deliver his bread.
The neighbors have a fight and there is a murder. The delivery man is ordered to stay on his property and not show is face. He is condemned to keep out of sight. After a period of time a mediator may be hired to negotiate the release. The women and children are free from the vendetta. So the man who delivers the bread makes his daughter take on the role. She becomes a good business person and develops a strong character. She buys cigarettes and sells them to the men in the village.
The teenage son seems to pay the biggest price. He cannot bear to be held up at home. He had aspired to open an internet shop in town. He now cannot go to school or leave the house. He begins to hate his father for putting him in this situation. The father runs into hiding but manages to sneak home on occasion.
They try to hire a mediator. He is expensive. The young teenager goes directly to the neighbor to beg for his lie. He is ordered from the property and told he his only chance for freedom is if he leaves his home and never returns.
Imagine the pain the young teenage had to face. He couldn’t stand being ostracized in his house away from his friends. He had no funds and nowhere to go when he was forced to leave.
The vengeance is terrible. Nobody wins in such a case. There is such hatred. It was amazing how it was accepted by the townspeople. The rules are clearly laid out and followed.
The film was painful and challenging. In many ways the people in the area are living in the past. Yet we see signs of modernity in the cell phones and texting by so many of the young people.
We can only hope that new ideas and technology will bring these old bad habits to an end.