Vodka Lemon (2003)

In a remote, isolated village in post-Soviet Armenia, Hamo, a widower with a pitiful pension and three worthless sons, travels daily to his wife's grave. There he meets the lovely Nina, who... See full summary »

Director:

Hiner Saleem

Writers:

Lei Dinety, Pauline Gouzenne (adaptation),

Stars:

Romen Avinian, Lala Sarkissian, Ivan Franek

7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romen Avinian	...	Hamo
Lala Sarkissian	...	Nina
Ivan Franek	...	Dilovan
Ruzan Mesropyan	...	Zine (as Rouzanna-Vite Mesropian)
Zahal Karielachvili	...	Giano
Astrik Avaguian	...	Avin
Armen Marutyan	...	Romik (as Armen Marouthian)
Armen Sarkissian	...	Conducteur autobus
Hasmik Alexanian	...	Femme acheteuse armoire
Roudik Revondyan	...	Homme Volga
Hasmik Ter-Karapetian	...	Femme de Romik
Svetlana Babelyan	...	Tali
Levon Meloyan	...	Patron Nina
Vahagn-Poncho Simonian	...	Robert (as Vahagn Poncho Simonian)
Gaguik Sarkissian	...	Homme acheteur armoire

Storyline

In a remote, isolated village in post-Soviet Armenia, Hamo, a widower with a pitiful pension and three worthless sons, travels daily to his wife's grave. There he meets the lovely Nina, who is communing with her late husband. The two are penniless--she works in a local bar that is about to close down, while he has been forced to start selling his meager possessions. All seems hopelessly bleak, yet as Hamo begins to court Nina, their unexpected union revitalizes them.

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Plot Keywords:

armenia | prostitution | mountain | horse | kurdish | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

France Italy Switzerland Armenia

Language:

Armenian Kurdish Russian French

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Votka Limon

Filming Locations:

Armenia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$9,303 (USA) (8 October 2004)

Gross:

$57,781 (USA) (13 May 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dulciné Films, Amka Films Productions, CINEFACTO

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the last scene, when Hamo and Nina play the piano and move far away from the camera. You can see the shadow of someone pulling them behind the piano.

User Reviews

Surrealism and comedy!

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