Women Without Wings

A Canadian woman reconnects with her ethnic Albanian roots and then some in director Nicholas Kinsey's 2002 drama Women Without Wings. Thirtysomething Marije (Katya Gardner) works in a nowhere job as a waitress and finds herself torn between two unappealing men. After hearing of her grandfather's death in Albania, Marije decides to attend the funeral in place of her sickly mother and sets out on her journey. Shortly after her arrival, Marije discovers that her ancestral homeland is a dark, mysterious place filled with old legends and older blood feuds -- prompting her to abandon her life back in Canada. Furthermore, she decides to become a vowed virgin -- a declaration that enables her to forswear marriage and motherhood in favor of dressing and acting like a man for the rest of her life. Marije's unconventional choice wasn't as random as it seemed, as her aunt Zef (Micheline Lanctot) made the same decision long ago and now lives as a highly respected member of the family's tribe. Setting out with the common goal of vengeance, the two women begin their quest of tracking down Marije's grandfather's assassin.