In a remote, isolated Yazidi Kurdish 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 when Hamo begins to court Nina, their unexpected love revitalizes them.
Acting
Romen Avinian's face does ten minutes of dialogue in one glance.
Cinematography
Snow-covered Armenian ruins never looked so poetically depressing.
Writing
Dialogue so dry you could use it as kindling.
Director
Hiner Saleem
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Hiner Saleem is a Kurdish Iraqi who fled to Armenia; the film's displacement themes are deeply autobiographical.
The village is real and largely abandoned — Saleem found only 23 residents still living there during location scouting.
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