07/01/2022
Arbëria is an elegantly crafted story of an Arbëresh girl returning home to Calabria, Italy in a dichotomy about the tradition of her community. Arbëria is also the name of Medieval Albania. The community captured in the film represent the ancestors of Albanians, who fled to Italy in waves before and during Ottoman expansion in 1500s.
It was very moving hearing characters speak in Arbërisht, a distinct language, which has evolved over time but represents or is linked to a medieval form of modern day Albanian, both of which are linked closely to Arvanitika too. Arbërisht, Arvanitika and Albanian all fall under the umbrella of Arbëror language.
Remarkably, despite Islamisation, the wedding tradition among the Arbëresh and Albanians seems to have remained largely the same, as has the dance. The wearing of fustanella was also striking and it shows that it is a shared attire among the people that populated that region (regardless of their identity today, be it Albanian or Greek).
A must watch on Netflix.
