A Cup Of Coffee And New Shoes On

Visual storytelling is appropriately to the fore in the latest drama from Albanian director Gentian Koçi, although his film about two Deaf identical twins also makes skilful use of heightened sound design. Both are in evidence right from the start as we watch - and listen to - the morning routine of Agim and Gezim (Portuguese twins Rafael and Edgar Morais). As they dance in the kitchen with Gezim’s girlfriend Ana (Drita Kabashi) the noise the washing up is making seems unusually loud - but it’s when a mug crashes to the floor but elicits no reaction from either man that we understand neither of them can hear it.

It is in these small moments that Koçi draws us towards the intimacy of the trio, the brothers’ bond going beyond their sign language but also flexible enough to allow Ana to be a vibrant part of their lives. They may look identical but Koçi and his actors craft an individualism for both men that means we quickly understand who is who, with Gezim the more upbeat of the two while Agim is more overtly serious. “Enough with the big brother decision making,” Gezim tells Agim in an early display of tensions that will be exacerbated by the news they will receive.

Koçi - whose film is Albania's submission for the International Feature Oscar - allows the rhythm of the brothers' lives to beat strongly at first as we see the way they move through their environment and interact with others. Long, patient takes and unfussy framing allow us time to see things from their perspective. We also learn the importance of touch in their world - on a hunting trip, one might not be able to hear a gunshot, but the heat of a gun betrays the fact that it has been fired. This tactile element of the film becomes increasingly important after Agim realises something is wrong with his eyes and a trip to the doctor brings the worst prognosis, that he is going to also become blind.

Additional plot developments reveal a complex web of psychology between the two men. What may, at first glance, look like a secret kept to protect one brother, from a different angle becomes an act of self-protection. Agim’s mental health worsens as he harbours intense fear about losing his way of communicating with the world and Koçi shows the very real, yet everyday challenges, the prospect presents. The film revolves around communication - and the lack of it. Not just the physical changes that will make continued communication in the way the brothers have in the past impossible in the future but in the way that Agim chooses to opt out of conversations in ways he hasn’t done before.

Koçi doesn’t forget Ana, showing how she can act as a haven or a conduit, with Kabashi bringing a graceful warmth to a role that indicates a 'third wheel', far from being extraneous, can offer additional stability. The Morais brothers also put in exceptional work, although neither are Deaf they spent months learning Albanian sign language for the roles and fluidly shift through the emotional gears as the film progresses. Koçi lets his drama teeter on the edge of heartbreak, while suggesting that so long as we can find a way to share our thoughts with others, there will always be a whisper of hope.