Kosovo. A car stops at an old bicycle lying on the road, and Petrit exits to ride it. He remembers what happened over 15 years ago: during the Kosovo War, Petrit was a 13-year old who drove on the bicycle of his school friend Oki. Petrit sold paper used to wrap cigarettes to Serb soldiers, but one day one of them simply confiscated Oki's bicycle to give it to his nephew, and thus Oki ended his friendship with Petrit. When their bus is stopped and searched by Serb soldiers, Petrit lies and takes the blame that an Albanian book found at Oki's bag is actually his, and thus Oki is spared from a punishment. The Serb paramilitary arrives one day and orders Petrit's family to take their stuff and leave their house in one direction, and if anyone turns around, he will be shot. A Serb boy passes by riding Oki's bicycle, Oki turns around—and is shot by a Serb paramilitary. Petrit keeps walking without turning around to look at his corpse.
Excellent short drama film "Shok" manages in only 21 minutes of its running time to illustrate a whole three-dimensional depiction of this era and area—and it does so without ever feeling forced or heavy handed. The genuine feel is owed mostly to the tightly written and directed storyline by British director Jamie Donoughue, based on memories of one of its actors, Eshref Durmishi, depicting an episode from the Kosovo War in the 90s, but also thanks to realistic and surprisingly competent performances by the two leading actors, boys Lum Veseli and Andi Bajgora, who never overreact. Several movies tried depicting the bloody Yugoslav Wars from the 90s, but never managed to hit the right note because they invented events and tried to force its messages, yet "Shok" is one of the rare ones that managed to do it the right way because it feels authentic: from the dirty roads, poor houses, up to the search of the Serb paramilitary of a bus, where they find a book in Albanian and shout at the boy that "this isn't Albania", the events grip and have weight and intelligence.
The narrative is smooth, sharp and modern, not wasting a single scene: the grown up Petrit rides on a bicycle in the present, and then there is an elegant match cut to him as a 13-year old boy on a bicycle in the flashback segment. The movie talks about friendship, integrity and innocence in the first half, and then about loss of these in the second half, when the dark ending sets in. The finale depicting the deportation and forced displacement by the Serb paramilitary is chilling, both concise and restrained at the same time, and still emotional in the final scenes. In the moment where Petrit is ordered to just walk forward and is not allowed to turn around or he will be shot, while Oki is behind him, the movie shows a paraphrasing of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth—but with a bitter, painful twist. Is he guilty for losing his integrity or was it a necessary reaction to survive himself? Upon the first viewing, you respect the movie for its efficient storytelling. Upon the second viewing, you appreciate it even more for its humanity.
Grade:+++
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