The Land Within

• Watched on HBO Max -

The incipit is pretty simple : a young man returns to his homeland in Kosovo after years of exile. Once he arrives, he's faced with a place that has changed during his absence. Violence, war and time has sweeped the place, like and invisible broom.

That's when Una (played by Luana Bajrami) comes in. Not only she is now the boss of the family, she also radiates the screen with a dazzling performance. Every little gesture, smirk or word carries meaning, carries weight, and above all, emotion. She is a pleasure to watch, and the arc of her character is quite big, yet unexpected.

The way it's filmed and staged is a great example of creativity. Many will be rebuffed by the slowness of the film, but it delivers strongly.

Some would say it's a "slow burn" ; I found it emotionally incendiary. 8.9/10.

(Watched at the Locarno Film Festival 2023)

There's a sense of nostalgia in Maxville's debut film 'The Land Within' ; but not one of a time we regret, but one of a time that feels incomplete. That's where the film starts and it will make you travel in a very powerful cinematic journey.

Remo (played by the disturbingly touching Florist Bajgora) goes back to the village where he grew up, a place that's been decimated by a conflict the director doesn't name (very smartly I must admit - giving it a sense of universality). Upon reconnecting with her cousin Una (Luàna Bajrami's first main role, an electrifying performance), their mission is to identify the remains found in a mass grave. What starts as an almost procedural narrative gently gives way to what the film is really about : give those characters the space, the time, the light and the sounds to explore who they are and where they come from. The beautifully crafted magical realism in the film takes the audience on a journey of remembrance to eventually enable the characters to free themselves from their past. I noticed people crying in the audience, but not because it was sad ; because it was beautiful.

Having covered the Sarajevo Film Festival for years, I was surprised at how this film brings a new dimension - and a magical twist - to stories coming from Eastern Europe.

For a first feature film, despite its flaws (e.g. Too many characters, some of them so strikingly beautiful that one regrets not seeing more of them), it is the promise of a strong cinematic voice in the making.

After seeing this movie at a festival, I've spent a long moment thinking about the incredible quality of the dramatic structure of the movie. The land within faces a topic we barely know our days, I mean war and it's mid-term consequences on our destinies. There is something very similar to Jarmusch's "Permanent vacation" in the construction of the plot. A kind of loser goes back to his birth place and hangs out with his cousins. The difference lies in the nature of the trip. War doesn't leave any place for emptiness, no place for humour neither, on the contrary it feeds bodies and further generations with new narratives. You cannot treat such topic without mastering the narrative science and I guess this has been a complete performance. I am looking forward to see this movie again.

The narrative structure of the film is particularly intriguing. The story is constructed like a complex family investigation, alternating between the past and the present. The captivating dialogue maintains constant suspense throughout.

The actors' performances are equally remarkable. Luàna Bajrami, who plays Una, is particularly impressive. Her performance is imbued with a quiet pain and a boundless determination to face up to the ghosts of the past. Florist Bajgora, Remo in the film, brilliantly embodies the impact that family secrets can have on future generations.

The Land Within is an emotionally powerful film that leaves a lasting impression and demonstrates Fisnik Maxville's talent as a director.

Watching this movie has been an extraordinary experience.

The capacity of the Director and the Actors to reproduce and involve the spectator in the structure of feelings that characterizes Kosovo in the aftermath of the atrocities of the conflict with Serbia is truly majestic.

The raw desolation and pain of the characters is not morbose though: instead they are poetically transfigurated through silences and short, cutting sentences.

It's a movie that goes beyond any simplification, beyond nationalistic polarizations.

It's Art that celebrates Life, inspiring hope and the potential for rebirth of the Human Spirit.