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Alexandra [DVD] [2008] [Region 1]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Russian master Aleksandr Sokurov (THE SUN, RUSSIAN ARK, MOTHER AND SON) has produced another majestic achievement with ALEXANDRA. In a rare instance of working from his own original script, Sokurov tells the simple tale of a woman in the twilight of her life who embarks on a special journey. As the story unfolds, Sokurov's deeper purpose is revealed, resulting in a work that speaks profoundly about the corrosive nature of war. Opera star Galina Vishnevskaya is Alexandra. She hasn't seen her grandson in seven years and, understanding that her life is coming to an end, she decides to visit him at his army camp in war-torn Chechnya. What at first is a beautiful reunion gradually becomes conflicted, as Alexandra is forced to accept the painful realization that she may no longer be the most important figure in her grandson's life. Furthermore, the strain the war is placing on these young men, combined with their restrictive conditions, is even harder for her to bear. When her grandson must return to work, Alexandra floats around the camp, having brief but profound interactions with many different soldiers. While these exchanges vary from the humorous to the dramatic, there is a striking purity and simplicity to Sokurov's overall vision--not to mention Vishnevskaya's unforgettable, heartbreaking performance--that makes ALEXANDRA feel universal and profound.
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 5097
Credits

Galina Vishnevskaya
Critic Reviews

"The luminous humanity that characterizes the films of Alexander Sokurov is in full force in ALEXANDRA....It is a work of the utmost simplicity but is charged with the eternal complexities and contradictions of both love and war."
Los Angeles Times
"[A] startling, elliptical war parable by the intense Russian director Alexander Sokurov..." -- Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is a powerful treatise on conflict's human toll....Rarely has combat seemed so savage or futile."
Empire
"ALEXANDRA is absolutely convincing as poetry, and in fact more nuanced and moving than any other recent Sokurov film....And Sokurov's speed-of-thought cutting has never been more fluent."
Sight and Sound