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Reviews
Amnistia (2011)
The vote in IMDB doesn't make justice to this movie!
I see the vote, and I see a great unfairness, frankly.
I've seen the movie after it's premiere, and the movie, at that time it was released was one of the few good movies of the "after communism" period.
It is the story of 2 lonely people, meeting each other in the premises of a prison, while waiting to meet their spouses in "special visits", meaning sex. Both, find each other very similar, united by a common problem, better say, destiny. They become friends, and that leads to love.
We never see their imprisoned spouses, because there is no need to.
It's a great tale, of how love can become the only shelter for lonely people. Also, a tale of love that spurs out of great suffering.
The acting both from Luli Bitri and Karafil Shena is at it's best, with Mr. Shena having a very hard task, because his character is opaque, with little dialogue and little to show off. Yet, he manages to bring the solitude of the character to life with mastery.
If I could name one single critic, is that of precipitating towards the end... while there could have been more space for the third act there.
The end, is breathtaking: you will never forget the image of a bald husband still unidentifiable staying over the committed crime.
Never have I seen before that in an Albanian movie, a story laid so bare, so simple and told so honestly than this masterwork from Alimani.
Besa (2018)
Very good - but a bit overdone
It is a good series.
Doing a Balkan story, through various countries. With a very mixed international cast, and working in 3+ languages, is a very hard task!
So, kudos for the creators.
There is great acting, and interesting plot most of the time.
Most of those stories are very close to reality, which makes the series even better.
Said that, it seems that the need for a visual show of, and for TV suspense have stretched the camera work - it is overdone; and also has stretched the story-lines to be from heavy to heavier, without letting subtlety to prevail sometimes.
Nonetheless it is a great effort and merits an applause, especially for some of the actors (Bajraktaraj being my top love).
Lulekuqet mbi mure (1976)
A honest review
Actually, writing a reviews far back in time after the premiere, should be done without giving actual stars. Stars make sense if given right after the premiere, and not based on nostalgia, as this review is about. I put 10* because of that, if there had been a voting system back then, and if I'd been alive then, I'd put it 8 out of 10 stars.
Back to the movie.
I've watched it several times, and it is a masterpiece in the sense of storytelling. It has laughs, tears, bad man, lovely kids, war, orphanage... all in one.
Also directing is strong, regarding directing actors, but also creating a "mood" of the epoch. The director, is one of the best Albanian directors ever, and he shows his mastery of the art right here, in this movie. It is a "kid's movie", yet it is not.
Acting is also superb, with some of the heaviest names of the Albanian Cinema of that era building solid characters. (Agim Qirjaqi, I'm looking at you!)
Said that, the movie is filled with propaganda and historical inaccuracies - for example, the life inside am orphanage of the period - which sorts of devalues it's content. There are numerous testimonies after the 1990, that put the credibility whole storyline in quest.
La legge di Lidia Poët (2023)
Addictive to watch
Despite Netflix now being more into high production value and low content value, this one stands out for it's simplified yet smart and likeable plot, as well as wonderful acting by the main cast. De Angelis certainly shines, but the whole ensemble is remarkable.
The plot is beautifully paced, keeps the interest on, and the mysteries are smartly built.
The gender dynamics are very simplified, but they work.
The production wisely makes it look bigger than it actually is.
The "bad" things:
The mini-series would have worked better, in my opinion in a 10 or 12 episodes stretch, than of actual 6. 6 episodes seems to make a need for quick solutions.
Në kuadër të dashurisë (2023)
Not for 1* neither for 10*
It looks ridiculous that this movie is getting rated 1 or even 10 from so may users. I believe it should be more like a 7+.
The Good things about the movie:
All actors are great, even Ejlli (a non professional) is not bad, at least I was expecting much worse. Sara Hoxha stands out, a very heartfelt performance. Olta Gixhari is also very good, although her performance is not the same level all the time. Kudos to Luan Jaha and Ylber Bardhi, they are not only great actors, but have built funny and distinctive characters. Overall, all characters are good and believable.
There are few cliche-s for a rom-com, which in itself is a genre full of such.
There is almost nothing pathetic in the script (although I have some reserves for the script, see below).
It is shot beautifully, locations are great (Korça, a delight), costumes are nice.
The retrospective scene of Jonida (Olta Gixhari) is shoot nicely.
There are a lot of laughs, and the night I saw it the audience laughed all the time.
The plot has a lot of turning points, and if we want to talk about messages, there are a few: Aria calls her own decisions in life, despite being pushed by her parents to "settle" in their way. The marriage need to be unburdened by the false image of perfect families imposed by our elders - no couple is perfect. Also, it looks cool that the phallus myth is being "cut".
There are a couple of interesting directing choices, as well as some pointless ones.
As for the bad things:
The end is rushed. It should have been more elaborated.
The B story, the one of there romance between Aria-Kleidi, is much better then the A story (the one between Jonida-Besi). The later one lacks more development, either.
The music is no good. The main song, also not good.
The editing is basic.
Hidden advertising, in some cases offensive.