Lemonade

The young Romanian Mara lacks many things: since her residence permit for the USA has expired, the immigrant needs a green card for herself and her nine-year-old son - and therefore a little bit of security in her already deprived everyday life. What Maja does have, however, is perseverance. She clings to her American dream, which the young nurse initially tries to realize by marrying the American Daniel, a severely disabled dialysis patient. But the dream threatens to be shattered when Mara becomes a victim of abuse of power, sexism and racism on various levels, despite all her efforts to maintain her refugee status. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" This is an optimistic saying in the USA that inspires an encouraging change of perspective even in the most adverse circumstances: no matter how bad the situation is, no matter how many lemons life gives you, with other ingredients you can make something delicious like lemonade. Maja is characterized by an unshakeable belief in the great American dream, for which she endures all the stops and overcomes the (also sexual) encroachments of a merciless, unsympathetic "super bureaucracy" playing out its power. A battle of David against Goliath, which the Romanian-born director Ioana Uricaru, who has lived in the USA since 2001, documents here in protocol-like sharpness: The endless waiting in cold registration halls, the feeling of being at the mercy of desk clerks, the web of orders, arbitrariness, regulations and the whims of the other person. ""Lemonade" is a quiet, impressive statement against xenophobia and the abuse of power. The film unfolds its power through its differentiated view and its ambivalence. This is its great strength: the fact that Uricaru approaches the topic of populists in a completely non-populist way and hints at the emotional complexity of the migration process rather than spelling it out. [...] Even though Mara's story is taken to extremes on film, her personal hell is always told truthfully and so consistently that it hurts. Mälina Manovici's restrained performance is simply captivating. The camera repeatedly scans her face in close-ups, in which fear, hope and also strength manifest themselves.[...] Uricaru tells of currently omnipresent themes: the consequences of globalization and the systems based on protectionism in many places."When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade out of it" is the proverb to which the title refers.What would remain without optimism?" (Jens Balkenborg, at: epd-film.de)