GIVE ME LIBERTY

Today just happens to be Aunty Lilia's funeral. The sizeable Russian-Belarusian-Jewish émigré community, to which Vic's grandfather belongs, need to get to the cemetery and yet the bus they ordered is nowhere to be seen. Thus, the grandson allows himself to be talked into undertaking the eventful journey in his van. At full speed he hurtles across the city, always in contact with the dispatcher via walkie-talkie, held up only by road blocks and two men whose wing-mirror he clipped. All the while Tracy, a wheelchair-bound woman of colour, keeps the situation under control in her own, outspoken way. Quickly the various passengers come to form a community of sorts in which racial bias and a sense of entitlement lead to quarrels and yet, beyond the fast pace, yelling and expletives, a fragile cordiality and punk attitude evolve that are far removed from everything one would associate with ruling class concerns. Here, from the States, we have wonderful independent film-making with a touch of Russian flair from Moscow-born director Kirill Mikhanovsky. Politically incorrect and thus of remarkable political relevance. MM & BB