'The Albanian' (2010) by German director Johannes Naber is making its rounds through festivals worldwide raising awareness to this gripping story about die-hard old world values in a harsh modern city and coming to terms with holding on and letting go. This is one of the most moving films I have seen all year, starring Albanian screen sensation Nik Xhelila, whose talent is unforgettable and explosive on screen. Naber takes us on a poetic realism and emotional journey from the ancient lands of Albania to the hard cold edgy streets of Berlin, Germany and then back again to his homeland. The Albanian lovers Arben (Nik Xhelilaj) and Etleva (Xhejlane Terbunja) want nothing more than to be together. Etleva realizes she's pregnant and that either they marry as soon as possible or she will give birth to a fatherless child and be outcast by her family and the village. But Arben doesn't have enough money for the bride price which he must pay to Etleva's family in order to marry her. So, he goes to Berlin to raise the money and promises to return before the child is born. But 10,000 euros is a lot of money to find in such a short time, as it turns out, and Arben takes on more than he can handle in his struggle to remain an honest and true young man stuck between an old corrupt world and a frigid modern city. As I watched this film I was reminded of a quote by Nietzsche, ‘The only human right: He who strays from tradition becomes a sacrifice to the extraordinary; he who remains in tradition is its slave. Destruction follows in any case.'

This year at the Palm Springs International Film festival 2011, ‘The Albanian' held its North American premier, wowing audiences with its poignant story about immigrants from Albania told with such verissimilitude and lyricism, it has certainly remained one of the best of this year's festival in my book.

Written by, Vanessa McMahon on January 22, 2011

DIRECTOR: Johannes Naber
Producer: Boris Schonfelder
Editor: Ben von Grafenstein
Screenwriter: Johannes Naber
Cinematographer: Sten Mende
Music: Oli Biehler
Principal Cast: Nik Xhelilaj, Xhejlane Terbunja, Ivan Shvedoff, Amos
Zaharia, Stipe Erçeg

read this interesting writeup by fellow writer, Alex, Deleon

http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/palm_springs/nik_xhelilaj_new_albanian_sho...

buy tickets for Der Albaner at Berlinale: http://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?fi...

director Johannes Naber at PSIFF 2011: right