Movie: Here Be Dragons

  • HomePage

  • Overview

    Filmmaker Mark Cousins goes to Albania for five days, and films what he sees. He discovers that the movie prints in the country's film archive are decaying. In investigating this, Cousins begins to encounter bigger questions about the history and memory of a place. Perhaps a country whose 20th Century, dominated by its authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha, was so traumatic, should allow its film heritage to fade away? Perhaps a national forgetting should be welcomed? Influenced by the films of Chris Marker, Cousins' film broadens to consider the architecture of dictators and the great icon paintings of Onufri. In the past, when cartographers knew little about a country, they wrote on it Here be Dragons. Albania was, for decades, one of the least well know countries in the world. Cousins' road movie meditation takes the advice of Goethe: "If you would understand the poet, you must go to the poet's land."

  • Release Date

    2013-08-30

  • Average

    5.7

  • Rating:

    2.9 starts
  • Tagline

    Days Of War, Nights Of Love

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Main Hoon Na
67%

Main Hoon Na(hi)

2004-04-30

An army major goes undercover as a college student. His mission is both professional and personal: to protect his general's daughter from a radical militant, and to find his estranged half-brother.

For frihed og ret
62%

For frihed og ret(da)

1949-10-28

Kids Return
70%

Kids Return(ja)

1996-07-27

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.

The Damned
73%

The Damned(it)

1969-10-30

In the early days of Nazi Germany, a powerful noble family must adjust to life under the new dictatorship regime.

Ret
63%

Ret(tr)

2015-07-10

La Strada
79%

La Strada(it)

1954-09-23

When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.

Parasite
85%

Parasite(ko)

2019-05-30

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Three Colors: White
75%

Three Colors: White(fr)

1994-01-26

Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.

Home
70%

Home(sl)

2015-08-19

Worker's quarters on Vida Pregarc Street, Ljubljana: a house originally built to accommodate construction workers has storeys, three entrances, and as a result of the privatization process, nineteen owners. The fates of its residents vary...

Daaaaaalí!
63%

Daaaaaalí!(fr)

2024-02-07

A young French journalist repeatedly meets iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí for a documentary project that never came to be.

The Enforcer
67%

The Enforcer(en)

1976-12-16

Dirty Harry Callahan returns again, this time saddled with a rookie female partner. Together, they must stop a terrorist group consisting of angry Vietnam veterans.

I Stand Alone
75%

I Stand Alone(fr)

1998-05-16

After completing jail time for beating up a man who tried to seduce his mentally-handicapped teenage daughter, The Butcher wants to start life anew. He institutionalizes his daughter and moves to the Lille suburbs with his mistress, who promises him a new butcher shop. Learning that she lied, The Butcher returns to Paris to find his daughter.

Test
59%

Test(en)

2018-05-22

Kurt Longson tries to avenge his daughters death. To succeed he has to battle with his conscience and morality to realize true love.

The Killer
76%

The Killer(cn)

1989-03-24

Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
71%

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades(ja)

1972-09-02

In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.

Palazzina LAF
68%

Palazzina LAF(it)

2023-10-21

Caterino is a worker at the Ilva factory in Taranto. When the company executives decide to use him as a spy to identify the workers they should get rid of, Caterino starts to track his colleagues, in search of reasons to report them. He then asks to be assigned himself to the Palazzino LAF where as punishment, some employees sit out their time with no job assignment. There he discovers that what looks like paradise is actually a strategy to psychologically break troublesome workers.

Slayers Return
65%

Slayers Return(ja)

1996-08-03

Lina Inverse and Naga the White Serpent are back! What begins as a routine bandit-stomping turns into the adventure of a lifetime involving magical golems, an ancient Elven weapon and even someone bent on destroying the world. It's a predicament only Lina and Naga could get themselves in to.

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
84%

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer(ja)

1961-01-28

After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.

Return
66%

Return(en)

1972-07-15

Static images of an old country house are combined with voices of the past to evocative effect. Haunting and nostalgic, 'Return' conveys the life that exists in old, abandoned places.

Saw VI
63%

Saw VI(en)

2009-10-22

Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

Similar Movies

Besa: The Promise
100%

Besa: The Promise(en)

2012-07-19

A documentary exploring how Albanians, including many Muslims, helped and sheltered Jewish refugees during WWII at their own risk, and trying to help the son of an Albanian baker that housed a Jewish family for a year return some Hebrew books that the family had to leave behind.

Gjama
40%

Gjama(sq)

2021-10-08

“Gjama” is a rarely practiced mourning ritual that was performed by Albanian men throughout the centuries. By shouting specific phrases and acting out a strict choreography, it is a way of paying respect to the deceased but also overcoming grief and pain over the loss of a loved one. Through the documentation of the re-enactment of the ritual, Zgjim Elshani seeks to recover fragments of the practice in the communities where this form of collective grieving is still a way of overcoming loss. By doing so, the project intends to rethink collective grieving and what it means to publicly display emotions in a male-headed society.

Inchiodato
100%

Inchiodato(sq)

2005-04-01

Anulloje Ligjin
0%

Anulloje Ligjin(it)

2023-11-25

A documentary that investigates the complexity of a nation, Albania, through the narration of the convoluted history of its monuments. What happens to the statues when they are destroyed, what are they replaced with and where do their marble shreds end up? What happens to their expensive bronze? And again: what do the sculptors who made these statues think of these destructions, what is their opinion. And today? Which statues are being destroyed in Albania today?

The Man Who Loves Gary Lineker
0%

The Man Who Loves Gary Lineker(en)

1991-03-01

Follows rural GP Dr Ylli Hasani who risked imprisonment in totalitarian Albania by listening to the BBC World Service to keep up to date with world events, especially English football.

The Undamaged
0%

The Undamaged(en)

2018-10-06

The Balkans cradles Europe's last wild rivers and supports abundant wildlife and healthy, intact ecosystems. These rivers are "The Undamaged" – clean, pristine, and undammed. With over 2,700 small and large hydro power plants planned or under construction in the Balkans, corruption and greed are destroying the last free-flowing rivers of Europe. Follow the Balkan Rivers Tour, a rowdy crew of whitewater kayakers, filmers, photographers and friends who decided to stand up for the rivers, travelling from Slovenia to Albania for 36 days, kayaking 23 rivers in 6 countries to protest the dams and show the world the secret wild rivers of the Balkans. The film honours everyday people and local activists who are fighting to defend rivers and aims to spread the word of the plight of these rivers, showing a new style of nature conservation that is fun, energetic and effective.

Fragments of Humanity
0%

Fragments of Humanity(fi)

2022-01-31

In the Kosovo War, human dignity was shattered by the terrors of the Serbian government and the Albanian liberation army. Truths about the victims’ fates faded away, which is why a Finnish forensic research group led by Helena Ranta got a mission to act as an unbiased agent and investigate the real course of events.

The Albanian Challenge
0%

The Albanian Challenge(fr)

1971-02-11

Albania is the country in Europe that Europe probably knows the least about. Underdeveloped yesterday, Marxist today, breaking with the Kremlin, in friendship with Red China, we hardly know more. For journalists, the country of Enver Hoxha is one of the most closed 'hunting' territories in the world.

Dear Albania
60%

Dear Albania(en)

2015-10-01

Eliza Dushku takes on her homeland of Albania.

A, B, C... Z
0%

A, B, C... Z(sq)

1971-02-16

Children get ready to start the first grade. They start learning the first letters.

Albanian Heroic Women
0%

Albanian Heroic Women(sq)

1967-06-14

Documentary about Congres VI of the Women's Union.

Stories of the Kosovo War
80%

Stories of the Kosovo War(en)

2019-01-01

A documentary unraveling the untold stories and brutal experiences of the Kosovo War in the late 1990s.

KLLEZNA - PLACE OF THE TREE BRIDGES
0%

KLLEZNA - PLACE OF THE TREE BRIDGES(sq)

A short documentary about a small village in the city of Ulcinj, that has 3 bridges.

Albania
0%

Albania(sq)

1945-01-01

Made by the highly influential Russian cameraman Roman Karmen, this documentary vividly features Albanian life immediately after the communists came to power in 1944. The film is especially memorable since it’s missing much of the heavy socialist realism that marked Albanian doc making. Shortly after he completed the film, Karmen set off for Berlin to shoot the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

Vendetta - Obliged to kill
0%

Vendetta - Obliged to kill(sq)

1996-08-14

A dramatic depiction of honor, family feuds and thousand-year-old traditions. In Albania, the tradition of avenging an injustice according to the motto "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" still lives on. This has led to people being trapped in their homes for fear of being murdered due to a family feud.

Dua Lipa: Elevating
50%

Dua Lipa: Elevating(en)

2022-03-01

One of the most recognizable voices in all of modern day music, Dua Lipa quickly rose to fame. Her catchy tunes and sultry vocals make her music appeal to a global audience.

Shqipëria - Notes from Albania
0%

Shqipëria - Notes from Albania(sq)

2012-01-01

Mad dictators, trigger-happy mobs, archaic blood feuds - this pretty much sums up what Western Europeans know about Albania. But reality in this long forgotten Balkan country is much more complex and multilayered. SHQIPERIA - NOTES FROM ALBANIA offers a flow of stories from and about Albania, displaying the country in its true diversity, unspeculatively illuminating its conflicts and discovering this blank spot on the map of Europe in all its contradictions.

Congratulations, Comrade Student!
0%

Congratulations, Comrade Student!(sq)

1956-01-01

The story of Viktor Stratoberdha (1921-1991) mirrors many of Albania’s tragedies. Stradoberdha’s humorous, buoyant style led him to be one of the country’s most promising filmmakers. But after being denounced in 1956, he was expelled from the Kinostudio and sent into internal exile. In 1967, Stratoberdha directed a local theater play in which the economic five year plan was placed in a coffin. He was then jailed for the next two decades. Urime Shokë Studentë! is one of the surviving documentaries of Viktor Stratoberdha’s all too short career.