Alexandra (2007 film)

For the 1934 film, see Princess Charming (film).

2007 Russian film

Alexandra

Directed by| Alexander Sokurov
Written by| Aleksandr Sokurov
Produced by| Andrey Sigle
Starring| Galina Vishnevskaya

Release date

* 2007 (2007)

Running time

| 90 minutes
Country| Russia
Language| Russian

Alexandra (Russian: Александра, translit. Aleksandra) is a 2007 Russian film about the Second Chechen War, written and directed by Alexander Sokurov. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.[1] It received generally positive reviews from critics.

## Plot

[edit]

Aleksandra Nikolaevna is invited by her grandson, Denis, a senior lieutenant (Stárshiy Leytenánt) in the Russian Army, to visit his military base in Chechnya. Her journey is aided by soldiers who have been ordered to be her escorts. But it is a lawless land; the two young happy-go-lucky conscripts who assist Nikolaevna on to an armoured train are assailed shortly after saying goodbye at the station.

On arrival at the army camp, Aleksandra is taken to her grandson's platoon area and told to wait. But she refuses to sit inside the tents because of the sweltering summer heat. Wandering around, she meets and interacts with the young soldiers on the base. Many are standoffish at first but soon, after she shares some pies, some begin to talk to her. She returns to the tents to find Denis had returned. They hug and exchange pleasantries. Later Aleksandra meets her grandson's commanding officer who shows her around the base; he also questions her as to her reasons for visiting. He explains that Denis is a good officer but the request asking for permission for his grandmother to visit was bemusing.

The next day she decides to leave the cantonments and visit the local market despite the reservations of the soldiers on guard duty. Nevertheless, she insists on going so they then ask her to get cigarettes and biscuits. In the town she discovers that many of the locals are hostile towards her because she is Russian. However she soon starts talking to an elderly Chechen woman named Malika who explains she was a teacher before the war. The local lady explains that many of the young people have been irreparably changed by the fighting. Malika gives Aleksandra some cigarettes and biscuits before inviting her back to her war-ravaged apartment where they drink tea and talk.

Aleksandra thanks Malika and promises to return and pay her for the supplies. A local boy is then asked to take Aleksandra back to the Russian army camp. Although initially aggressive to her because she is a Russian, his attitude softens when she tells him that people should not be labelled together and that intelligence is more powerful than war. On arrival back at base, Aleksandra distributes the cigarettes and biscuits among the soldiers. Some then take her to a mess where she is given a hot meal. Aleksandra then returns to Denis' quarters where she finds her grandson mulling over his life in the army after he had to strike a soldier for disobeying him. After talking about their lives (she wants to live more even though her body is getting old), Denis soon brightens up and plaits his grandmother's hair while she promises to find him a wife.

The next day, Aleksandra is woken up by Denis who tells her she has to leave now because he and his men are going on a five-day mission. Slowly the elderly lady gathers her things before making one last walk through the camp saying goodbye to the soldiers she met. At the gate, she says goodbye to Denis as he climbs onto an armoured vehicle and to his commanding officer who silently acknowledges the good her trip has done to her grandson and the men under his command.

Aleksandra then walks back to town where she meets Malika and her local friends. Refusing to take any money for the cigarettes and biscuits, the group walk Aleksandra back to the armoured train. Aleksandra gives Malika her address asking her to come and visit her in Russia. She then boards a rolling car. The train moves off with Aleksandra waving from the doorway. With the train's departure, Malika turns and walks away with a grim expression. Aleksandra rides along looking out across the desolate empty fields of Chechnya.

## Cast

[edit]

* Galina Vishnevskaya as Aleksandra Nikolaevna
* Vasily Shevtsov as Denis
* Raisa Gichaeva as Malika
* Andrei Bogdanov
* Aleksandr Kladko
* Aleksei Neymyshev
* Rustam Shakhgireev
* Evgeni Tkachuk

## Production

[edit]

The film was shot on location in and around Grozny the capital of Chechnya.

Producer Andrey Sigle also wrote the score.

## Reception

[edit]

The film received positive reviews from critics, although some reviewers found it to be slow and difficult to sit through. Alexandra has an approval rating of 88% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 59 reviews, and an average rating of 7.49/10.The website's critical consensus states, "At once ethereal and tangible, Aleksandr Sokurov's humane Chechen War drama features a spectacular turn by opera star Galina Vishnevskay".[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 85 out of 100, based on 13 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[3][4]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times named it the 3rd best film of 2008,[5] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune named it the 6th best film of 2008[5] and Bill White of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer named it the 8th best film of 2008.[5]

However, David Fear of Time Out: New York wrote: "Sokurov prefers the sort of deliberate pace that tests ADD-afflicted viewers. This isn’t an opinion: He’s an unapologetic practitioner of crafting "difficult" films, and a member of a slow-and-low legacy that extends from Antonioni to Akerman, from Tarkovsky to Tarr."[4]

Japanese film critic Shigehiko Hasumi listed the film as one of the best films of 2000–2009.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Alexandra". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
2. ^ "Alexandra Movie Reviews, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
3. ^ "Alexandra (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
4. ^ a b Time Out: New York review: Alexandra Archived 9 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ a b c "Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
6. ^ Aoyama, Shinji; Hasumi, Shigehiko; Kurosawa, Kiyoshi (2011). Eiga Nagabanashi (in Japanese). Little More. p. 271\. ISBN 978-4-89815-313-0.

## External links

[edit]

* Official Trailer with English subtitles
* Alexandra at IMDb
* Alexandra at Rotten Tomatoes
* Alexandra at Metacritic
* Alexandra at AllMovie

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Alexander Sokurov

Fiction films|

* The Degraded
* Empire
* The Lonely Voice of Man
* Mournful Unconcern
* Days of Eclipse
* Save and Protect
* The Second Circle
* Stone
* Whispering Pages
* Mother and Son
* Moloch
* Taurus
* Russian Ark
* Father and Son
* The Sun
* Alexandra
* Faust
* Two Brothers and a Sister
* Francofonia
* Fairytale

Documentaries|

* Sonata for Viola. Dmitri Shostakovitch
* Elegy
* And Nothing More
* Evening Sacrifice
* Patience of Labour
* Maria
* Moscow Elegy
* Sonata for Hitler
* Petersburg Elegy
* Soviet Elegy
* To The Events In Transcaucasia
* A Simple Elegy
* A Retrospection of Leningrad
* An Example of Intonation
* Elegy from Russia
* Soldier's Dream
* Spiritual Voices
* Oriental Elegy
* Hubert Robert. A Fortunate Life
* A Humble Life
* The St. Petersburg Diary: Inauguration of a monument to Dostoevsky
* The St. Petersburg Diary: Kosintsev's Flat
* Confession
* The Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn
* dolce...
* Elegy of a Voyage
* The St. Petersburg Diary: Mozart. Requiem
* Elegy of a life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya

* v
* t
* e

Chechen–Russian conflict

* First Chechen War (1994–1996)
* War in Dagestan (1999)
* Second Chechen War (1999–2009)
* Insurgency in Ingushetia (2007–2015)
* Insurgency in the North Caucasus (2009–2017)

First Chechen War|

* Battle of Dolinskoye
* Battle of Khankala
* Battle of Grozny (1994–1995)
* 1995 Shali cluster bomb attack
* Samashki massacre
* Shatoy ambush
* Battle of Grozny (August 1996)
* Khasavyurt Accord
* Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty

Second Chechen War|

* 1999 Russian bombing of Chechnya
* Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)
* Battle for Height 776
* Battle of Komsomolskoye
* 2000 Zhani-Vedeno ambush
* 2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash
* 2004 Nazran raid
* 2004 raid on Grozny
* 2005 raid on Nalchik
* Counter-insurgency operations
* Guerrilla phase
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008

Major attacks|

* 1995 Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis
* 1996 Black Sea hostage crisis
* MV Avrasya hijacking
* 1996 Kizlyar hostage crisis
* 1999 Vladikavkaz bombing
* 1999 Russian apartment bombings
* 1999 Tukhchar massacre
* 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis
* 2002 Grozny truck bombing
* 2003 Mozdok bombing
* 2003 Tushino bombing
* 2004 Moscow Metro bombing
* 2004 Russian aircraft bombings
* 2004 Beslan school siege
* 2008 Vladikavkaz bombing
* 2009 Nevsky Express bombing
* 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
* Domodedovo International Airport bombing
* 2012 Makhachkala attack
* 2014 Grozny bombing
* 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing
* Crocus City Hall attack
* 2024 Dagestan attacks

Related topics|

* Chechen Revolution
* Battle of Grozny (November 1994)
* Censorship of Chechnya coverage
* Crimes and terrorism
* Mass graves
* Suicide attacks
* Assassinations
* Casualties
* Aircraft losses
* International response
* First Chechen War
* Second Chechen War
* Politics of Chechnya
* Chechenpress
* Kavkaz Center
* Chechen genocide

Wars in culture|

* List of films
* Polina Zherebtsova's Journal
* War
* The 3 Rooms of Melancholia
* The Pathologies
* Alexandra
* Angel of Grozny
* Ant in a Glass Jar
* The Search

Federalists|

| Combatants|

* Russian Federation
* Armed Forces
* Ground Forces
* Ministry of Internal Affairs
* OMON
* ODON
* Internal Troops
* Federal Security Service
* Main Intelligence Directorate
* Special Forces (Spetsnaz)
* Republic of Chechnya
* Kadyrovites

|

Leaders|

* Russian Federation
* Boris Yeltsin
* Dmitry Medvedev
* Vladimir Putin
* Alexander Lebed
* Pavel Grachev
* Gennady Troshev
* Chechnya
* † Akhmad Kadyrov
* Alu Alkhanov
* Ramzan Kadyrov
* † Dzhabrail Yamadayev
* † Ruslan Yamadayev
* † Sulim Yamadayev

Separatists|

| Combatants|

* Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
* Caucasian Front
* Vilayat Dagestan
* Vilayat Galgayche
* Vilayat Nokhchicho
* United Vilayat of Kabarda, Balkaria and Karachay
* Vilayat Cherkessia
* Vilayat Iriston
* Islamic Djamaat of Dagestan
* Liberation Army of Dagestan
* Alperen Hearths
* Grey Wolves

|

Leaders|

* † Dzhokhar Dudayev
* † Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
* † Aslan Maskhadov
* † Abdul-Halim Sadulayev
* † Ruslan Gelayev
* † Shamil Basayev
* † Arbi Barayev
* † Salman Raduyev
* Akhmed Zakayev
* † Turpal-Ali Atgeriyev
* † Vakha Arsanov
* Ilyas Akhmadov
* † Movsar Barayev
* † Muslim Atayev
* † Rasul Makasharipov
* † Ilyas Gorchkhanov
* † Rappani Khalilov

Mujahideen|

| Combatants|

* Caucasus Emirate
* Mujahideen
* Islamic International Brigade
* Riyad-us Saliheen
* Islamic State – Caucasus Province

|

Leaders|

* † Magomed Suleimanov
* † Aliaskhab Kebekov
* † Dokka Umarov
* Aslambek Vadalov
* (POW) Ali Taziev
* † Anzor Astemirov
* † Supyan Abdullayev
* † Aslan Byutukayev
* Movladi Udugov
* † Khuseyn Gakayev
* (POW) Tarkhan Gaziyev
* † Said Buryatsky
* † Magomed Vagabov
* † Rustam Asildarov
* † Asker Dzhappuyev
* † Arthur Getagazhev
* † Ibn al-Khattab
* † Abu al-Walid
* † Abu Hafs al-Urduni
* † Muhannad
* † Abdulla Kurd
* † Zalim Shebzukhov

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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[POW]: Prisoner of war