Zana

Beautiful touching movie exploring PTSD and the crimes that happened in Kosovo. Amazing performances by the lead and the man who played her husband, you can't help but feel for these characters. Makes you grateful and thankful if you are one who have never had to experience the crimes of war and understand what those who went through this time dealt with.

It has been a month since I saw this movie, however I am still thinking about it. It gave me so many emotions, especially considering the fact that it represents a reality for many Kosovan families living in rural areas. The last scene made me cry, and I never cry!!!

Zana are mysterious beings from the forest who heal those who connect with them. Having lost a child in the recent war and haunted by nightmares of the experience, Lume is hesitant to bring another child into the world. Her husband and his mother put constant and extreme pressure on Lume to bear another child. They blame Lume and accuse her of being cursed. If only they or someone could help Lume with heartbreak.

Zana is dedicated to the mother and sisters the director lost in the war and drawn from Antoneta's own experiences. Antoneta also interviewed Albanian women whose experiences followed similar patterns. In exploring wounds of war Zana avoids the easy answers and the macho attitudes that make it harder for women to heal. Antoneta hopes to start conversations about the war and help women to talk about what they conceal inside. This is not the sole reason to see Zana, it is also a beautiful, jarring and well-crafted film. Though it is from a new director, actors, filmmakers and country, it is polished and enthralling. Seen at the Toronto international film festival.

Heartbreaking movie! Nothing better than this Movies shows the postwar traumatic lives , mixed with tradition! The main Role , Lume , she plays in a perfect way! A solid 10/10!

Zana weaves a tale set in the aftermath of the Kosovo war but transcends time, politics. and geography. It is a stunning portrayal of the depths and nuances of trauma and grief. The external constraints of an overtly patriarchal society serve as both a literal telling of a grieving woman's alienation and entrapment while also metaphorically capturing the inescapability of pervasive grief. It haunts and possesses its host. Lume, the protagonist in Zana, portrayed exquisitely by Adriana Matoshi, struggles to exist after unthinkable loss (no spoilers), but her real battle registers more so as a battle against others' expectations of her than her own inherent desire to "move on." She does not seek to move on. She does not seek to fully integrate in this new world that proceeds without her loved one. Anyone who has experienced loss can relate to this, the discomfort that others carry and project. Their well meaning wishes butting up against the rebellious longing to hold on, to preserve the relevance and value of the deceased. Zana uses culturally significant devices and context specific to Kosovo (witch doctors, animals, war) to render both an historically accurate depiction but also incredibly subtle metaphors that pack visceral punches. This is not a fast film, there are so many moments of noticing - stunning landscapes, skin texture, complex emotions dancing behind the eyes of the characters. Levity breaks through at just the right moments, as in real life, it's never all drama...survival requires and manufactures lightness and laughter. With Zana, her first feature length film, director Antoneta Kastrati is brave, not just in funneling her own personal loss into storytelling (she lost her mother and sister in the war), not just in trusting that a female protagonist's gut churning journey is enough to carry the film, but in allowing Lume to win in the most unexpected way and on her own terms.