Der Albaner (2010) HD online

Excellent, well-acted tale concerning an Albanian immigrant who leaves his village for Germany, where he tries to make the money needed to marry his girlfriend back home. Albanian custom dictates that the groom must pay a large dowry to the girl's family before they can wed, and in this case the girl is pregnant, so there is little time to lose. Having no working papers, Arben must really scrounge to make even a small amount of money. He eventually is forced to turn to crime to get what he needs, in order to return to his girl.

During the film, we see this character go through changes, from naive country boy, who can barely figure out how to use a computer, then becoming slowly disillusioned with the world he thought he understood. In the end, he develops a hard edge when things begin to go wrong, and he becomes desperate. When he finally returns to his homeland, things do not go as expected.

Of course this is hardly the first time this kind of tale has been told, but it is important to see and understand what people go through when coming to a new country to make a life for themselves. The world can be so cold and unforgiving for those without money or status. We learn from films like these how basically good people resort to questionable means to survive, because survival is human instinct, and life IS survival. Great movie, and a powerful drama.

Some films have new plots. Not many I grant you but there are a few. The Stalker comes to mind. You don't get any clichés in these movies. But most films are old stories that have been told a hundred thousand times and you get nothing but scene after scene that you wished you had never seen the first time round. But here it is again with another actor on another set. The Albanian is a very old tale. Rags to riches. A humble Albanian makes his girlfriend pregnant and has to pay to get married. (The sooner Albania joins the EU the better.) But he is broke. So he goes to Berlin to work for the money. And then it is one old chestnut after another until he returns to his village to hand over the dowry. But too late. The baby has been born and so it is no dice for our handsome hero. And after all that. The hell that is Berlin. A life of crime. Crooked Poles. Sleeping rough. Being beaten half to death. Poor old Arben. And all for nothing. This movie was made in 2007. Before the feel good factor made a come back. What a pity. A final scene with Arben and his bride and baby cutting maize in the spring sun would have been more than welcome.