MWFF 2017: Elvis Walks Home

ELVIS WALKS HOME

WORLD COMPETITION

Albania

Montreal World Film Festival's Official Synopses:

"Mickey, an Albanian refugee without documents who lives in London, is an imitator of Elvis Presley. He works to entertain the British troops in the 1999 Balkan war. When a conflict in the wings began, he flees in his King costume and lands in the military zone. He is captured by a group of refugee children, victims of this absurd war."

The film raises issues of how people behave in extraordinary situations in war conflict zones, how much humanity and bravery a person can keep under the conditions of hatred, power struggle, the fire arms being pointed at you, and the general moral depravity of those who intent to profiteer in the most debased ways during a war. It reveals that many of those who under normal peaceful conditions function quite adequately within their community can easily turn into hard-core killers with absolutely no regard for other people's dignity, right to live, or any other rights. It also shows how the fighting sides in the Balkan conflict were ready to shoot at anything that moves, even children or UN humanitarian encampments.

A group of children, as multi-ethnic as the Balkan conflict region itself, who have lost their parents and homes are wondering through the military zone trying to reach a UN camp. Their main concern is to avoid being captured by the organized crime groups. Yet mirroring and imitating the war situation around them, they form a society of their own, with a similar hierarchical structure of a crime gang, where the gun-power rules, and where those without firearms are mistreated and ordered around. 

Mickey, an Elvis Presley impersonator, is captured by this children's group. He not only keeps his human face through various ordeals imposed on him by the children and other war structures they encounter, but is surprisingly able to master leadership and even a Rambo-like strategy and action. At the end, only one card is left for him to play to save the children's and his own life, and it requires no firearms...    

The film makes the statement that it is not guns that have the ultimate power to resolve human conflicts but rather collective values like music, culture, love and humanity. 

The director was able to cast excellent actors. Dritan Kastrati, who plays the Elvis Presley impersonator, expressed masterfully through his on-screen persona the complexity of the Balkan war. A especial mention goes to the children actors who did an excellent job to portray their juvenile gang with credibility and authenticity.

PRODUCTION TEAM 

Director: Fatmir Koçi

Scriptwriter: Jonathan Preece
Photography: Marek Wesolowski
Country: Albania
Lenght: 94 min.

Lead Actors: Dritan Kastrati, Amos Muji Zaharia, Erand Hoxha, Juli Emiri

Children Actors: KLAUS LAÇI, SAMUEL VARGU, ARMIN VARGU, VIVIAN BIAGIONI, ARBER SINANAJ, ENEA SHINJATARI, LONEL BOÇI,  GLEDI SPAHIU, JONA ANASTASI, MIKEL JAKU, NAIEL HOXHA, REIS ÇANI, NIKOL SHOSHA, LAURA ÇANI

FILM TRAILER

For more information on the festival visit the Montreal World Film Festival's website.

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