The Albanian
- Nik Xhelilaj: Arben
- Xhejlane Terbunja: Etleva
- Ivan Shvedoff: slatko
- Amos Zaharia: Ilir
- Stipe Erceg: Damir
- Cun Lajçi: Arben's father
- Luan Jaha: Arben's uncle
- André M. Hennicke: The pharmacist
- Bruno Shllaku: Sali
- Eva Lobau: Nicola
- Guljem Radoja: Etlevas father
- Yllka Mujo: Etlevas mother
- Julian Deda: Florenc
- Tomek Nowicki: The tug
- Vasillaq Godo: Arben's grandfather
The Albanians (Albanian Shqiptari ) is a film from the year 2010. Directed by Johannes Naber. The film was a huge success in Albania, but also came abroad for a tremendous response and has received several awards in Europe. The film was presented at the Munich Film Festival on 28 June 2010, the public for the first time. The theatrical release in Germany took place on August 4, 2011. In Switzerland, the film opened on 26 January 2012 in the cinemas.
Action
Arben is a young man who lives with his parents, his grandfather and his brother Ilir in a village near Bajram Curr in northern Albania. Life in the mountains is hard, the family is poor and the men of the family are therefore forced to work illegally in Greece.
Arben is in love with Etleva who lives in the same village. The pregnant Etleva can only marry Arben when he paid a dowry debt of Etlevas father in the amount of 10,000 euros. Until then, she is imprisoned by her family in the house. He promises to raise the money and marry her before the child is born. With the help of a friend Arben can illegally immigrate to Germany and, after a long search and the help of his new friend slatko a job in Berlin. His merit, however, is too low to even be able to afford the dowry before the child's birth on time. Therefore, he is persuaded by his boss Damir to accept a better paid, but at the same time dangerous work. Arben is to drag along with slatko immigrants illegally crossed the Polish border to Germany.
This Arben earns a portion of the 10,000 euro and sends it to his brother Ilir to Albania as a deposit for Etlevas family. But Ilir used the money to also illegal to travel to Germany. He meets his brother in Berlin, because he with a friend there would make true his dream of a career as a rapper. When the brothers meet and Arben is enlightened by Ilir about the situation he is in despair and goes to the Polish tug that has Damir killed in the battle for supremacy in human smuggling. Arben kills the tractor and takes all the money that he can find. Then he returns with the money back to Albania. But it is already too late. Etleva was placed in a psychiatric hospital in Tirana. Arben she meets there, and it is painfully obvious that he not keep his promise and Etleva has given up on him because of that.
Background
The idea for the film was made back in 2001, the director Johannes Naber in the interview. " Albania seemed interesting to me at the beginning because of its proximity to Europe and because of its absurd story The country has indeed after many years of paranoid Stone Age - Stalinism to a. turbo-capitalist media society developed. a huge drop height. 2001 I went there for the first time. with a minibus and a video camera. the mixture of archaic and the modern, the ehrbedingte pride and unconditional hospitality, I found I was very impressed. prejudice, prevailing in Central Europe about this country, are so wrong that quickly is another reason for this film was come: .. Albania to become the focus the country needs a chance in Europe, and to a lot of stereotypes must be overcome "
The film production was realized under the direction of New Schönhauser Filmproduktion GmbH and Boris Schoenfelder as producers.
Criticism
" John Naber tells the story of a young man who leaves his home to Albania, to raise the money in Germany, which he needs for his wedding. Quick, however, he realizes that he will never achieve anything with mini-jobs. As Illegal him ultimately leaving only the slow descent into crime. Thrilling, authentic drama with strong images and performers. "
" Naber portrayed Germany as a country with no moral integrity, political concept or rule of innocence - at least for all those people who are not considered as useful and vernutzbar here that are not so welcome. The Albanians is therefore a good movie, but also stylistically told very conventional and one might expect in cars, the recoils at the end before the decisive political or ethical implications of its history and flees into privatistic. "
" " The Albanians " is an overlooked Germany that a German citizen usually hardly notices: wasteland and ruins next to glass palaces, scrap bearing in backyards. Nabers film into a shadow world where the exploitation of man finds its most radical development as a worker. [ ... ] Illegality gets under your skin. This film does it well. "
" After the audience experiences the living conditions in Albania as austere, reactionary and crude, shows John Naber a Berlin that to desolation in no way inferior to the. Instead tourists glamor there are backyards and garbage heaps, and there's Christmas rush, it's raining. [ ... ] The subject of human trafficking runs like a red thread through the film. But it is the casualness with which brutalities as these are addressed, which is characterized as the Albanians. "
Awards
- 2010: Best Actor at the Antalya Film Festival
- 2010: Best Film and Audience Award at the Festival Cinéma Tous ecrans Genève
- 2010: Special Jury Prize and Best Actor at the International Film Festival Moscow
- 2011: Max Ophüls Prize for Best Director
- 2011: Best Director Award at the Festival of German Films