Pharmakon

A first feature and a Masterpiece - SIGHT & SOUND, Mark Cousins

In Joni Shanaj's multi-layered debut, a young man returns from his studies in the US, only to fall in love with a mysterious blonde nurse who might be his physician father's lover. Conspiracy thriller meets doomed romance, over a Hitchcockian blonde on whom its male characters project both their worst fears and desires. A brilliant study in people hurtling towards destruction - EEFF, London

Branko, a melancholy young man, has returned to his native country after studying abroad. He now runs a drugstore in a desolate suburb outside Tirana. Most things in his life, including the drugstore, are owned by his father Dr. Sokrat, a highly respected cancer specialist. Branko is shaken out of his rut when he meets Sara, a nurse who also turns out be dependent on Sokrat. Pharmakon is an assured debut about father-son conflict. Branko's quest for solid truths also makes the film a coming of age story and even though Shanaj eschews political lecturing, it is obvious that the cynical, patriarchal system Branko is fighting on a personal level also symbolizes corruption, power hunger and generational strife in Albanian society at large. Albania's Oscar entry - GÖTEBORG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Johan Blomqvist