Lemonade

2018

1h 28m

Drama

List

90%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

A young Romanian woman moves to the United States with her son after she marries an American man she hardly knows.

Read More

Read Less

Neil Young

Hollywood Reporter

An engaging and harrowingly topical drama.

Feb 26, 2018

Full Review

Guy Lodge

Variety

"Lemonade" remains effective and agitating precisely where it needs to be, while the subtleties of Manovici's performance, clouding her ingenue-like appearance with flashes of hard-lived savvy, keep the drama on edge.

Feb 25, 2018

Full Review

Devika Girish

Vague Visages

Lemonade makes palpable the psychological experience of immigration and the constant, self-effacing guardedness it encourages.

Feb 6, 2024

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

It points out, from a socio-political perspective and with a sober treatment, the grayish sides of the condition of immigrants who seek the American dream. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Dec 9, 2021

Full Review

Fernanda Solórzano

Letras Libres

Lemonade is a movie that addresses the issue of migration from the esthetic and narrative style of the new Romanian cinema. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 12, 2019

Full Review

Ernesto Diezmartinez

Cine Vértigo

"At least, in the ending, the movie leaves room for hope".

Rated: 2/4

Aug 11, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

With Ioana Uricaru's Lemonade, the highly appreciated Romanian New Wave has reached two important milestones: First of all, it benefitted from the lens of a woman who directed a female protagonist with grace and grit, turning her character into a believable one and her story into a painfully relevant one. Second of all, it crossed not only Romania' borders, but also the ocean. It moved all the unique values and neo-realistic features of the Romanian New Wave to America, a land not so used to such filmmaking. The story follows Mara (masterfully played by Mălina Manovici). She moved to the States, married a local, honest man and is waiting for her son to come live with her. She's gracious, but a blue collar worker, somehow just as hardened by life as she is delicate in her demeanor. The film throws an unfiltered glare at the dark side of immigration. At some point the film's command becomes predictable. This only slightly alleviates the punchline, but it does not blunt Uricaru's directorial edge, not in the least. Much can still be said about this film. That it is biased in its political views, that the villains are excruciatingly one sided or that it's unnecessarily depressing. All of the above may or may not be true, depending on the judge, but one cannot take away it undoubtable qualities: a great lead actress, razor sharp social discussion (though the razor only has one edge) and plenty of memorable lines of dialogue. I'll finish by stating that Lemonade has one of the best and most clever titles that I've seen in a while.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I watched it because of Cristian Mungiu's work: after seeing Malina in Graduation where I found her part a bit dull, I was very surprised by her gripping performance in Lemonade. This movie will offer you no humour or funny moments - a glimpse of their smiles at one point will come as a surprise; it's a pure drama, it's cutting, hurtful and powerful because it holds such a raw truth. The lengths at which one can go for the sake of one's child. The pursuit for something better whatever that may be.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

very realistic and the acting was very well done enspecially by the protagonist.Its a terrific drama that will keep your eyes glued to the screen and heart beating in suspense. It's a must see

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Ioana Uricaru

Director

Malina Manovici

Mara

Dylan Smith

Daniel

Steve Bacic

Moji

Milan Hurduc

Dragos

Ruxandra Maniu

Aniko

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

67%

%

Splinters

92%

67%

A Season in France

82%

41%

Lover for a Day

100%

83%

Alone With Her Dreams

TRAILER

for Alone With Her Dreams

20%

75%

Eye on Juliet

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A young Romanian woman moves to the United States with her son after she marries an American man she hardly knows.

Director: Ioana Uricaru
Producer: Tudor Reu
Screenwriter: Tatiana Ionascu, Ioana Uricaru
Production Co: Mobra Films, 42film, Peripheria Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 28m