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Alexandra
The Cinema Guild


7.0

based on 13 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 15 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov, and Raisa Gichaeva

In a desolate, sun-scorched corner of the world, an elderly woman has come to see her beloved grandson, a young officer stationed at a remote military outpost. With the enemy just beyond the compound, she wanders the barracks, observing the routine of military life, before making a sudden trip to the outlying countryside. (The Cinema Guild)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Aleksandr Sokurov
DIRECTED BY:	Aleksandr Sokurov
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 7, 2009 Theatrical: March 26, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	95 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Russia / France
LANGUAGE(S):	Russian / Chechen

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

A film of startling originality and beauty -- feels like a communiqué from another time, another place, anywhere but here.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

In the hands of visionary filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, this simple material makes for a haunting drama about war, generational relationships and the human condition.

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

It's unlike any other war film, in any language.

Variety Jay Weissberg

Though he's sure to deny it, Alexandra is Alexander Sokurov's most directly political work for years. Featuring a performance of monumental depth by opera legend Galina Vishnevskaya, pic presents war for what it is: brutal, crushing, and ugly, and yet Sokurov doesn't lens any battles.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Never the most optimistic of poets, Sokurov does suggest the possibility of dialogue on the individual level, and the hope that by asking difficult questions of one another, these mortal enemies can find answers and reach an understanding everyone can live with.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Alexandra is a pleasure to watch, but it's also one of those lovely, unclassifiable movies that flourishes better with repeated or prolonged exposures.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The point is that for the soldiers, it's a dead zone, life on hold, a cheerless existence. And this plain-spoken old woman reminds them of a lifetime they are missing.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

On its deepest level it considers not a particular war but the complex feelings between mothers and the young men they send out into the world to kill or be killed.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

The luminous humanity that characterizes the films of Alexander Sokurov is in full force in Alexandra. On the surface, it is a work of the utmost simplicity but is charged with the eternal complexities and contradictions of both love and war.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Spare yet tactile, a mysterious mixture of lightness and gravity, Alexander Sokurov's Alexandra is founded on contradiction. Musing on war in general and the Russian occupation of Chechnya in particular, this is a movie in which combat is never shown.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Alexandra never depicts the soldiers in combat, but Sokurov nonetheless shows how war can break down the social structure, break down family, break the human soul.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

The frequent, mundane talks -- which Alexandra engages in with her grandson, Malika and the base camp's enlisted men -- are not so much about politics as they are about people.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

The contrast of a warm maternal figure and a remote army outpost is undeniably affecting. But when Vishnevskaya opens her mouth, she spoils the mood.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dick C. gave it a10:
Erotic and delicious I had a huge erection throughout.

A Kirk gave it a3:
I went into this film expecting something really wonderful. I must have missed the point somewhere...probably when I fell asleep. This film is very very slow.

S J gave it a1:
So so boring. So many static shots of the old woman walking around.

T P gave it an8:
Slow, subtle, hypnotic and, powerful, a great little film about the futility and foolishness of war.

John P gave it a10:
Wonderful time seeing this, cannot be missed.

Norbert gave it a9:
Moving and natural Sometimes action goes too slow but that is not a disadvantage.

M Day gave it a2:
Movie was rubbish. long and arduous, terrible acting and interaction between characters. didnt make much sense. cinematography and score good but timing is way off. avoid at all costs.

Alexandra The Cinema Guild

Alexandra
The Cinema Guild