Featuring a performance of monumental depth by opera legend Galina Vishnevskaya, "Alexandra" presents war for what it is: brutal, crushing, and ugly, and yet Sokurov doesn't lens any battles.
These wounds are deeper, coming from the endlessness of a war (Chechnya, but also anywhere) that bleaches the soul as surely as Sokurov's striking trademark monochrome palette.
"Alexandra" inhabits a world of specificity and universality. The setting is Chechnya, and Alexandra's questioning of "what is the Fatherland?" is an undeniable critique of that particular conflict, sure to make Vladimir Putin mighty uncomfortable.
But Sokurov uses this one seemingly endless conflict to reflect upon the totality of the war experience, not in some superficial and sentimental way but by revealing the loss of basic humanity.
Elderly, no-nonsense Alexandra Nikolaevna (Vishnevskaya) arrives at her grandson's army base after a long journey.
She hasn't seen Denis (Vasily Shevtsov) in seven years; following the initial joy of meeting he takes her on a tour of the base, where she watches soldiers barely old enough to grow facial hair cleaning their guns.
Starring: Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov, Raisa Gichaeva
Alexandra is released 29th September