In this movie a family who delivers bread travels through a backroad that used to belong to their family but no longer does. The father of the family and his brother end up killing the owner of the road after a dispute about them not traveling on the road while delivering bread. After his death, their family is open for the taking of blood from the property owners family. The uncle is arrested and the father flees but cannot find safety and has to return back to the home at night. The family has to stay indoors because since the father cannot be found, the oldest son is in danger. The oldest daughter must quit school and continue the bread business. A 'besa' or 'blood money' was determined instead of the death of the father. The besa was excepted but only for the father which leaves the son still in danger. The son is then forced to abandon his family and flee to the countryside.
Stories like this are more common than many people realize in modern day Albania. Sometimes when the oldest male (father or son) are killed in the bloodfueds the oldest daughter must take an oath of allegiance to their family and become 'sworn virgins.' Sworn virgins take the role of the men, live and dress like men and do the work of men.
There are still modern 'negotiators' that relay information from family to family about accepting besa's or ending the feuds all together. I would recommend this movie, if you could find it online and deal with not having subtitles because it accurately depicts what modern day Albania looks like and what the environment I live in is like. Here is the Facebook page with clips of the film.
