By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Starring: Galina Vishnevskaya | Raisa Gichaeva | Vasily Shevtsov
Original language title: Aleksandra
Country: france, russia
Year: 2008
Running time: 95
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034427/
Bruce says: “Operatic diva Galina Vishnevskaya plays against type as Alexandra Nikolaevna, an aged Russian grandmother who travels to the front lines in Chechnya to see her grandson whom she loves dearly. As the film begins we see the back of her head, a beautifully braided bun elegant in its simplicity. Two boys horsing around in a field point her in the direction of the train. When she arrives at the train she discovers it is but half a step up from a cattle car; it is crammed with soldiers returning to the warfront. ‘Three stops,’ she is told as she climbs up the stairs. As Alexandra sits she closely examines the tired soldiers’ faces one by one; her glances do not go unnoticed. ‘Stop staring at her,’ one soldier is told by another, presumably of higher rank.
“When she arrives at stop nearest the army camp, she is met by a friend of her grandson who helps her onto a dusty tank, her taxi to camp. The barracks are tents, linked together by tented corridors. ‘Your hotel,’ the soldier tells her when they reach her grandson’s room. The ‘hotel’ is dirty as are the soldiers. Their uniforms are wearing thin; their weapons are outdated. Food is sparse and salaries are not always paid on time.
“Alexandra naps and wakes up to find Denis on the adjacent bed in fetal position. He awakens and shows her around the camp. She and Denis climb inside a tank. Alexandra complains of the smell. When Denis hands her a Kalashnikov, ‘It’s so easy,’ she says as she pulls the trigger, holding the gun firmly against her shoulder.
“With age comes privilege. Alexandra does what she wants. Against protests from enlisted men who are charged with looking out for her up to the commanding officer of the entire camp, she wanders around the camp questioning soldiers and offering her opinions. The soldiers seem frightened and ashamed in her presence. Alexandra has an uncanny sense of what buttons to push with each soldier she encounters. One can’t help but wonder if she has a hidden agenda. Finally she decides to leave the camp and go to the local market in the nearby village. She offers to bring cigarettes and cookies to the sentries who allow her to pass through checkpoint. At the market she meets Malika a local woman who sells her merchandise to Alexandra on credit since Alexandra has forgotten her money. When Alexandra succumbs to fatigue in the 100 degree heat, Malika takes her home so she can rest before returning to the camp.
“With age also comes opportunity – the chance to set things right: the chance to live the life one had always hoped for or planned: the chance to finally become the person one had always wished to be. Sokurov is wise enough to know that the changes in one’s later years are likely to be subtle not one hundred and eighty degree turnarounds. In conversations with Malika and Denis Alexandra cautiously reveals the disappointments of her former life, when her cruel husband was still alive. Denis reminds her that she was a terrible mother and, in ways, as cruel as her husband. Alexandra does not articulate any change, yet she subtly demonstrates a shift in thinking through her actions.
“Filmed in beautiful sepia tones, Sokurov has created a film as atmospheric as his earlier films, FATHER AND SON and MOTHER AND SON. While still enigmatic to a certain degree, ALEXANDRA is Sokurov’s strongest narrative effort so far. Sokurov’s film is magnificently pro-humanity in addition to scoring its political points and making a powerful anti-war statement. The Chechnyans plead ‘Give us our freedom. We’re tired and we won’t last long.’ But they do not show signs of giving up and appear unafraid of the Russians. Denis asks ‘What good is the army if you are not feared?’ 5 cats”
Thom says: “While I thought this was not quite up to par poetically with FATHER & SON (my FILM-OF-THE-YEAR for that year) & MOTHER & SON, I still gave this Toronto Film Festival sighting 4.5 cats. In keeping with his earlier themes I thought it could be called GRANDMOTHER & GRANDSON, but that’s a trifle awkward, isn’t it? Sokurov has become a master of the genre!!!”