Vodka: A Russian Fairytale

Vodka is one of the best-known Russian export products, but the Russians themselves are by no means adverse to the beverage too. Filmmaker Angus Macqueen set out to examine the relationship between vodka and the Russian national character. He ended up in the country, where home-distilled vodka flows liberally at weddings, but also at funerals. He spoke with a vodka historian and registered a wealthy vodka tycoon’s election campaign. In his film, he interjects extracts from feature films and newsreel images in which booze plays a major role. The leitmotif is the fairytale of a fisherman who catches a goldfish and can make three wishes. First, he wishes for happiness, then power and wealth and the third wish is devoted to vodka, because it will make him feel both happy and rich and powerful. That is, until the hangover presents itself, because one thing becomes clear: vodka is not only a source of delectation, but also the instigator of a great deal of misery.