Vodka Lemon

I am glad to see that this movie has been reviewed from Australia to the USA. In fact it's all deserved. If you haven't seen it yet, do it. Maybe i am impartial as I adore east European and ex-ussr movies. Don't seem yet to know why. But it got humour, it got poetry and real life issues are all glued together to form a picture full of realistic feelings.

It is believed that a successful film is recognized not only by a good story but also by the manner in which that particular good story is told.If we take these concepts into consideration and watch "Vodka Lemon",we would find that we are watching a good story which is being told in a very frank and honest manner.In "Vodka Lemon",Iraqi/Kurdish film director Hiner Saleem deftly shows the warmth of human emotions in an area full of snow.His film gives a creditable message that due to their indefatigable will to survive ordinary people can remain warm even in an extremely cold area covered with many snow capped mountains. His film bears testimony to the fact that life goes on for everybody despite various obstacles which are mostly related to money.For admirers of ancient Soviet Union,Vodka Lemon gives many hints related to the nostalgia of the old times.Some of this film's characters seem to suggest that old times were wonderful in former Soviet Union as everybody was able to lead a simple life without having to bother about food and other issues related to money.Apart from its political viewpoint which is fairly innocuous,Vodka Lemon wins viewers' hearts as it has most flavors of human emotions such as comedy,satire and tragedy. In the modern realm of world cinema there are times when talented filmmakers are discovered purely by chance.Hiner Saleem is one such discovery whose film "Vodka Lemon" won the best film prize as part of counter current section at Venice International Film Festival 2003. PS : Film critic Lalit Rao would like to thank a good friend Mr.Philippe Pham for having gifted a DVD of this film for detailed analysis.

This is a good film -- dark, and funny, and absurd. The setting is post-Soviet Armenia, today. Life is bleak in the Caucasus; the young have either emigrated or, if they have stayed, they've either turned cruel and abusive or are exploited through prostitution or tawdry sexual encounters. Most of the people in village are pensioners, however. Everyone is forced to sell their meager belongings just to get by. Life is tedious -- unemployed men gather in small groups to drink Vodka Lemon and discuss their effete prospects. A widow and widower, strangers, meet during their regular visits to the graves of their deceased partners. A bit of human warm and humor is thus established. But what gives this film its true strength of statement, and sets is tone, are the absurd moments -- it opens with a musician sleigh-riding on his sick-bed; it ends with a piano gliding off down the road into the distance; a man on horseback gallops across the screen at odd moments and for no known purpose. There is no rhyme or reason for the poverty experienced by these characters -- its effects are pointless, random, and unpredictable and absurd.

Vodka Lemon is such a great movie by a Kurdish director living in France. The film is full of surrealism (like the horse galloping in the streets and the ending in which the piano moves by itself)and comedy! The beautiful snow covered landscape is extraordinary, the scenes during the nights are best in terms of cinematography. I think this film is Hiner Saleem's best film, after moderately nice "Long Live the Bride...Liberation of Kurdistan", in particular. It shows how Kurdish people living in Armenia influenced by the Russian and Armenian cultures, like drinking vodka-lemon all day, even at the cemetery, while mourning for the dead wife. The story is well organized and weaved, sub-plots works well (like the piano player girl, Zine, and the Avin's marriage with the weird Kurdish man). Vodka Lemon's representation of Kurdish life and culture in Armenia is proper and great I think, Saleem is opening a window that reflects the life of Kurds in Diasporas. He did it before in his first feature "Long Live the Bride..)

devrim kilic

editor in chief www.kurdishcinema.org www.kurdishcinema.com

Vodka Lemon is a charming, yet extremely uneven Arminian film that will delight some and bore others. Though reasonably well-crafted, the film lacks any real "zing", relying instead on many scenes that will seem commonplace to the astute art-house viewer. The film contains a handful of moments of sheer cinematic brilliance, unfortunately, they deserve a film worthy of their genius. Too dark to be a dark comedy and to light to be a serious drama, Vodka Lemon will leave many views disoriented and ultimately disgruntled. You may laugh, but these moments will be few and far between amid a sea of washed out snow filled landscapes and a seemingly endless series of bus rides. A noble effort, ultimately done in by lack of narrative cohesion.