THE MARRIAGE

Bekim and Anita are in the middle of planning their wedding when Bekim’s oldest friend Nol, a successful career musician in France, decides to pay them a visit. After a boozy night, Bekim and Anita get into an argument – for a couple of days afterwards they give each other the silent treatment. The audience suspects the worst when Anita seeks advice from Nol and her eyes linger on him long after she has said goodbye. Alas, everything turns out differently than expected. Director Blerta Zeqiri performs an unforeseen about-face and Bekim increasingly becomes the centre of attention. In adeptly deployed flashbacks, it becomes apparent that he and Nol have had their own thing going on the downlow for a long time. The two spend a night together after Nol is brutally beaten on the street for being gay. Will Bekim remain loyal to his life-lie and marry Anita, who for her part is completely in the dark about all of this?
What starts off as a coming-of-age romance takes an unexpected turn. Well-composed images and convincing performances from the ensemble cast make THE MARRIAGE a mature film about the difficulties gay love faces in today’s Kosovo.