Figure 1.--Here two of the village boys are arguing over apples for sale.

This is one of the few Albania films archived on HBC. Mėngjese lufte (War Morning) is a black and white Albanian movie made in 1971. The director was Kristaq Dhamo. The movie was made at Kinostudio “Shqipėria e re” (Studios New Albania). It is set in a little Albanian village during World War II. Albania was occupied by the Italians a few months before World War II began (1939). The Germans briefly occupied albania after the Italians surrendered to the Allies (September 1943). The film focuses on how children saw the newly arrived Germans. Two boys from the local town steal the uniform and guns from two German soldiers while they are bathing in a lake. In one scene there is a well-dressed boy. The other children are wearing rather ragged clothing and they are all barefoot. The concern of the children with the Germans, increases the attention of the adults. We don't know much about Albanian clothes and fashions so we are unable to assess the accuracy of the costuming. In many countries boys the age seen here would have worn short pants, but long pants seem to have been more common among poor children in the Balkans (figure 1). Here a few of the younger boys wear short pants, but most of the boys are wearing calf-length trousers. Perhaps there is also a Muslim dress influence. Albania was a very poor country so the barefoot children is presumably accurate. A reader writes, "Often in the movies, when someone walks barefoot, the surfaces are prepared so that sharp rocks are removed. In this movie the children are walking everywhere without difficulty. So it seems to me that the children playing in the movie are used to walking barefoot in their everyday life."

Created: 5:42 AM 12/7/2010
Last updated: 9:08 AM 12/7/2010