Ever since hearing about Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov's famous one-take film Russian Ark (2002), I've been interested in seeing some of his work as I generally like slow-paced atmospheric movies. Alexandra is the first Sokurov title I have seen and a quite pleasant film experience. The story deals with an elderly Russian woman Aleksandra Nikolaevna (Galina Vishnevskaya) who pays a visit to her grandson Denis (Vasily Shevtsov), an officer on a military camp in Chechnya. On the camp she is unbothered by the soldiers and spends her time examining the equipment or chatting with the personnel. She also befriends a Chechen woman named Malika (Raisa Gichaeva) during a trip to a local market place.
The simple plot is mostly secondary to the mood created by the washed-out colours and the charismatic performance by the 80-year old opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya in the title role. The grumpy Aleksandra spends a lot of time mumbling to herself and walking wherever she wants to go only hindered by the fatigue of old age, while the camera lingers on details such as the bored young soldiers' faces when they look at her curiously. Vishnevskaya's performance radiates calm, distanced attitude towards the ongoing conflict and her scenes with the kind old lady Malika make a strong point about the futility of the war.
Despite the setting at an active military camp, the mood is not warlike at all: instead, the atmosphere is shaped very melancholic by the oddly emotional music accompanying the uneventful scenes. Considering the down-to-earth style, the music actually feels a little too sentimental at times, as in this type of very low-key storytelling the emotions are to be created inside the viewer's head as opposed to being handed out by a manipulative score. Nevertheless, the film is not devoid of beautiful moments; particularly when Alexandra lets out her fear of growing old near the end she finally becomes a fuller character and is easy to sympathize with. The kind-looking Vasily Shevtsov fits well in the role of Denis, the target of the old woman's motherly love.
Even though Sokurov's slow and quiet style will not appeal to everyone, Alexandra is a well made art film that inconspicuously touches many universal themes. Patient viewers may easily find a lot to like in it, so even if it is not quite among the top films of its ilk, it is certainly worth giving a good look.
The simple plot is mostly secondary to the mood created by the washed-out colours and the charismatic performance by the 80-year old opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya in the title role. The grumpy Aleksandra spends a lot of time mumbling to herself and walking wherever she wants to go only hindered by the fatigue of old age, while the camera lingers on details such as the bored young soldiers' faces when they look at her curiously. Vishnevskaya's performance radiates calm, distanced attitude towards the ongoing conflict and her scenes with the kind old lady Malika make a strong point about the futility of the war.
Despite the setting at an active military camp, the mood is not warlike at all: instead, the atmosphere is shaped very melancholic by the oddly emotional music accompanying the uneventful scenes. Considering the down-to-earth style, the music actually feels a little too sentimental at times, as in this type of very low-key storytelling the emotions are to be created inside the viewer's head as opposed to being handed out by a manipulative score. Nevertheless, the film is not devoid of beautiful moments; particularly when Alexandra lets out her fear of growing old near the end she finally becomes a fuller character and is easy to sympathize with. The kind-looking Vasily Shevtsov fits well in the role of Denis, the target of the old woman's motherly love.
Even though Sokurov's slow and quiet style will not appeal to everyone, Alexandra is a well made art film that inconspicuously touches many universal themes. Patient viewers may easily find a lot to like in it, so even if it is not quite among the top films of its ilk, it is certainly worth giving a good look.