Vodka Lemon

Winner of the San Marco prize at the Venice Film Festival, VODKA LEMON is a bittersweet concoction with a kick. As one character says, the only thing the Russians have left them is the one thing they didn't have before-their freedom. The miracle of VODKA LEMON, the third feature by exiled Iraqi Kurd director Hiner Saleem, is that this portrait of an abandoned community is so magically upbeat. With its stunning, blinding-white vistas, its lovely Armenian score, and its Iosseliani-esque whimsy, the film celebrates its quirky characters at the same time that it mourns their plight.