Product Details

• Language: Russian
• Number of discs: 1
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B001NJ913Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #709,323 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "ALEXANDRA" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 stars For Lovers of Russian Cinema, April 30, 2009

By 

D. Hupp "Hup234" (Woodbridge, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ALEXANDRA (DVD)

Fans of Russian cinema will want to see this little known gem. It's an evocative film that focuses on the human impact of war on the Chechnyan populace, Russian soldiers, and primarily on a Russian Army officer (Vasily Shevtsov) and his grandmother Alexandra Nikolaevna who has traveled to a town near the front to visit him.

Since the real-world conflict there has been underway for more than a decade (it started in the mid-'90s), the film seems to be set after the war has been underway for a while. This can be inferred from the established Russian military base and the operation of an open-air market in the war-torn Chechnyan town near the base.

The lack of a specific point in time during that war can be construed as a clue that the film is trying to make a broad statement about the war, and perhaps war in general. Most of the film follows the Russian grandmother Alexandra, played by renowned Russian opera star Galina Vishnevskaya (the real-life spouse of Russian cellist & conductor Mstislav Rostropovich). She gives a splendid understated performance as she travels by train and armored personnel carrier to visit her grandson Denis and spends a few days with him at his military base, and visiting a nearby Chechnyan town.

During Alexandra's brief stay at the military base, she passes her time by wandering around the camp (without her escort), chatting with the soldiers, and relishing the little time that she and her grandson Denis can share. Of course, being the caring grandma that she is, Alexandra occasionally chides Denis for such things as not keeping himself and his uniforms cleaner!

As is characteristic of a number of Russian films that I've seen, the director (Aleksandr Sokurov) sets the mood of the film early, specifically during the military train ride that Alexandra takes as she embarks on her long, tiring journey to Chechnya.

Don't expect much expository dialogue in this film. The strength of this film can be found mostly in its nonverbals -- the glances, stares, smiles, slumped shoulders, and silences.

The faces of the soldiers, who apparently are replacements heading to the front, show the awkwardness and homesickness they feel. They look at this elderly woman oddly but seldom speak to her. They treat her politely, as they might their own grandmother, and then, at times, when they cannot help her get off a platform or squirm into the hatch of the armored personnel carrier, they enjoin her to just "leg go" and essentially to trust that they will not allow her to be harmed, as they might to one of their own mates.

Sokurov's subtle, masterful direction and Vishnevskaya's impressively nuanced performance are shown in other scenes with the soldiers at the Russian base (including the commander of her grandson's unit), a visit to the local market, and being befriended by a Chechnyan widow from the town.

The EXTRAS feature on the DVD contains the press conference held after the preview showing of the film to the Russian media. It offers insight into the heartfelt efforts that went into the making of the film and is worth watching. Just remember that it's a Russian press conference, so you can expect a more subdued exchange between the artists and the media.