Hive

Like trying to scratch your foot with your shoes on, the desire is there but the feeling is too desensitized to be effective. Hive is the true story of a Kosovar woman whose husband goes missing during a massacre in the Kosovo war (1998-1999), and finds herself forced to pick up the pieces of her life in a society that frowns on women picking up the pieces of their lives. While I find the story fascinating, heartbreaking and inspiring, I find the film a little too restrained because in its restraint, it short changes Fahrije and her journey. [Note: On January 31, 2021 Hive became the first film in Sundance history to win all three main awards – the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award and the Directing Award – in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, so what the fuck do I know?]