Poverty wears away at the soul and spirit of those it imprisons. Daily life is a chore filled with humiliations and setbacks. Such is the case in a rural village in Armenia where there are no jobs to be had. "Are you buying or selling?" is a more frequent question than "How are you?"
Hamo (Romik Avinian) is an elderly man whose pension does not give him enough money to live on. He has one son who drinks too much and another who is in Paris waiting for his working papers. When Hamo learns that there is a letter from abroad, he makes the long journey to another village, expecting that his son has sent money. No such luck. Instead there is a picture of his new girlfriend. Hamo's other son has arranged for his pregnant daughter to marry a man who has promised to give him money and get him a job in another city. When the fellow doesn't come through, he responds with anger and shoots him in the leg.
Hiner Saleem directs this Armenian film based on a touching and witty screenplay by Beatrice Pollet. Although the characters are all suffering and struggling hard to keep their hopes up for a better future, they still do experience a few wonderful moments of happiness. Every day Hamo visits the grave of his beloved wife and clears the snow off her picture on the headstone. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Nina (Lala Sarkissian), a widow who communes with her deceased husband at his grave. They ride together on a bus driven by a kindly man who sometimes sings beautiful songs. One day after making some money on the sale of his television, Hamo learns that Nina owes the bus driver five dollars for back fares. He pays this debt for her.
Whereas he has been systematically selling off everything in his house for cash, she is struggling to make ends meet by working at the Vodka Lemon, a local bar. Her daughter has told her that she plays piano and lives off tips at another local place. She actually is working as a prostitute and is treated badly by her clients. Both mother and daughter are depressed when Nina loses her job and is forced to sell the piano they both love. One character says sadly, "Before the Russians left we didn't have our freedom, but we had everything else."
Vodka Lemon is an extraordinary film about the heavy weight of poverty on those who have very few options. Nonetheless, they manage to find grace moments such as the uplifting closing scene where Hamo and Nina defy their terrible plight and share a joyous experience together.
Screened at the New Directors/New Films Festival, March/April 2004, New York City
