Welcome to the USA
2019·Drama·1h 35m
7.1
★
Aliya, a 36 year old Kazakh lesbian, has, for the first time in her life, tried to play the Green Card Lottery and won. Now she cannot decide whether to leave Kazakhstan or stay. On one hand, Aliya is tired of the stagnation, corruption, and dictatorship of the Kazakh society, she wants changes in her life. But on the other, she is afraid of uncertainty and to start all over again in a foreign country.
Directed by Assel Aushakimova
kazakhstan
lesbian
lottery winner
IMDB
N/A
Popular Reviews
1 review
kamila
10.0★ · 09/11/25
“a person of our standing is met with a choice. find a country that suits him best, or build it from the ground”
- my mom, probably
one of the most deeply personal films for me, to sing its technical or directorial praises would be to close eyes to the fact that I’ve been to the US embassy in the opening shot, that my brother was dropped off every day at the same school where Aliya picks her niece up. In every shot, I see not a sanctification but a very tireless reverence for the city I grew up in, a common theme for people who choose the latter option in my mom’s hypothetical. Assel stages what could have been a straightforward immigrant narrative and strips it of the conventional triumphal arc. its so refreshing to, for once, see a character in this all too familiar set-up narratively ask not “what if?”, but “what now?”. there is no catharsis to the implication that love for a place does not erase its harms, just as resentment does not dissolve its pull. easy to be a fan of this film when you’re writing the review from london, i guess.
- my mom, probably
one of the most deeply personal films for me, to sing its technical or directorial praises would be to close eyes to the fact that I’ve been to the US embassy in the opening shot, that my brother was dropped off every day at the same school where Aliya picks her niece up. In every shot, I see not a sanctification but a very tireless reverence for the city I grew up in, a common theme for people who choose the latter option in my mom’s hypothetical. Assel stages what could have been a straightforward immigrant narrative and strips it of the conventional triumphal arc. its so refreshing to, for once, see a character in this all too familiar set-up narratively ask not “what if?”, but “what now?”. there is no catharsis to the implication that love for a place does not erase its harms, just as resentment does not dissolve its pull. easy to be a fan of this film when you’re writing the review from london, i guess.
“a person of our standing is met with a choice. find a country that suits him best, or build it from the ground”
- my mom, probably
one of the most deeply personal films for me, to sing its technical or directorial praises would be to close eyes to the fact that I’ve been to the US embassy in the opening shot, that my brother was dropped off every day at the same school where Aliya picks her niece up. In every shot, I see not a sanctification but a very tireless reverence for the city I grew up in, a common theme for people who choose the latter option in my mom’s hypothetical. Assel stages what could have been a straightforward immigrant narrative and strips it of the conventional triumphal arc. its so refreshing to, for once, see a character in this all too familiar set-up narratively ask not “what if?”, but “what now?”. there is no catharsis to the implication that love for a place does not erase its harms, just as resentment does not dissolve its pull. easy to be a fan of this film when you’re writing the review from london, i guess.
- my mom, probably
one of the most deeply personal films for me, to sing its technical or directorial praises would be to close eyes to the fact that I’ve been to the US embassy in the opening shot, that my brother was dropped off every day at the same school where Aliya picks her niece up. In every shot, I see not a sanctification but a very tireless reverence for the city I grew up in, a common theme for people who choose the latter option in my mom’s hypothetical. Assel stages what could have been a straightforward immigrant narrative and strips it of the conventional triumphal arc. its so refreshing to, for once, see a character in this all too familiar set-up narratively ask not “what if?”, but “what now?”. there is no catharsis to the implication that love for a place does not erase its harms, just as resentment does not dissolve its pull. easy to be a fan of this film when you’re writing the review from london, i guess.
kamila
10.0★ · 07/14/24
spent 3 months looking for this film just to find out its on a porn site (save yourself the effort, you can find it on noodle magazine)
by far the best take on the typical kz artsy jaded postsoviet middle class angst type story ive seen so far. amazing amazing amazing exploration of all the religious/cultural/political shit 1st gen kazakh immigrants (or those who want to be) are far too fucking familiar with done in a non preachy candid way. “it’s easy to be a patriot when you live in LA”?? assel at this point just fucking shoot me.
the cinematography is beautiful but pretty low key. AND THE DIALOGUE IS ACTUALLY TO DIE FOR. despite being very much a nothing happens film it didnt feel like a snoozefest, which is rare.
by far the best take on the typical kz artsy jaded postsoviet middle class angst type story ive seen so far. amazing amazing amazing exploration of all the religious/cultural/political shit 1st gen kazakh immigrants (or those who want to be) are far too fucking familiar with done in a non preachy candid way. “it’s easy to be a patriot when you live in LA”?? assel at this point just fucking shoot me.
the cinematography is beautiful but pretty low key. AND THE DIALOGUE IS ACTUALLY TO DIE FOR. despite being very much a nothing happens film it didnt feel like a snoozefest, which is rare.
spent 3 months looking for this film just to find out its on a porn site (save yourself the effort, you can find it on noodle magazine)
by far the best take on the typical kz artsy jaded postsoviet middle class angst type story ive seen so far. amazing amazing amazing exploration of all the religious/cultural/political shit 1st gen kazakh immigrants (or those who want to be) are far too fucking familiar with done in a non preachy candid way. “it’s easy to be a patriot when you live in LA”?? assel at this point just fucking shoot me.
the cinematography is beautiful but pretty low key. AND THE DIALOGUE IS ACTUALLY TO DIE FOR. despite being very much a nothing happens film it didnt feel like a snoozefest, which is rare.
by far the best take on the typical kz artsy jaded postsoviet middle class angst type story ive seen so far. amazing amazing amazing exploration of all the religious/cultural/political shit 1st gen kazakh immigrants (or those who want to be) are far too fucking familiar with done in a non preachy candid way. “it’s easy to be a patriot when you live in LA”?? assel at this point just fucking shoot me.
the cinematography is beautiful but pretty low key. AND THE DIALOGUE IS ACTUALLY TO DIE FOR. despite being very much a nothing happens film it didnt feel like a snoozefest, which is rare.