Film Review: "Hive ("Zgjoi")" (2021).

Sundance triple award winner, and Kosovo’s official submission for the Academy Awards comes Hive (Zgjoi). This Albanian-Kosovan drama film written and directed by Blerta Basholli, in her directorial debut. The film centers on Fahrije, who, like many of the other women in her patriarchal village, has lived with fading hope and burgeoning grief since her husband went missing during the war in Kosovo. In order to provide for her struggling family, she pulls the other widows in her community together to launch a business selling a local food product. Together, they find healing and solace in considering a future without their husbands—but their will to begin living independently is met with hostility. The men in the village condemn Fahrije’s efforts to empower herself and the women around her, starting a feud that threatens their newfound sovereignty—and the financial future of Fahrije’s family. Against the backdrop of Eastern Europe’s civil unrest and lingering misogyny, Fahrije and the women of her village join in a struggle to find hope in the face of an uncertain future.

In 1918, after World War I, Yugoslavia was a country in the Balkan Peninsula that came into existence. On 6th April 1941, after being a monarchy since its inception, the country was invaded by the Axis Powers. Two years later, a Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed by the Partisan Resistance. After the abolition of the monarchy, the country became a communist state with Partisan leader Josip Bros Tito ruling from 1953 until his death in 1980. After an economic and political crisis in the 1980s, which was followed by the rise of nationalism, the country broke up and a bloody war ensued throughout the 1990s with approximately a hundred and forty thousand deaths and four million displaced. Kosovo was governed by Serbia until the Kosovo War (1998 - 1999). It was fought by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian rebel group known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In 1999, the armed conflict ended when North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an arial bombing campaign against the former for approximately three months. The conflict resulted in more than ten thousand civilians killed or missing and two hundred and thirty thousand displaced.

The film stars Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi, Aurita Agushi, Kumrije Hoxha, Adriana Matoshi, Molikë Maxhuni and Blerta Ismaili. The film is a gripping one, mostly because of the fearless performances of the cast, led by Gashi.

Basholli's family drama goes to unexpected places that for better or for worse, stay with you for quite some time. Rewarding for those who stay the course. Dominated by periods of eerie calm followed by sudden, astonishing mood swings, the film is intelligent, emotionally complex world cinema at its finest. Watching the film is a long, hard, and emotionally draining experience but one that richly rewards the time and effort invested. It's a raw and brutal look at the unending strife in the region, but it's also an unforgettable tragedy that keeps the audience riveted through one surprising plot turn after another.

Simon says Hive (Zgjoi) receives: