“Alexandra”, Alexander Sokurov

There have been many movies about war. Ones that show guts spurting out of people, ones that are more psyche-based, but rarely can you see a movie that shows war seen through eyes of just a regular person, an everyman. This makes the audience perceive war on a more down-to-earth level, the picture is much more realistic than those which viewers can’t relate to.

The title character, Alexandra, an amiable but intractable oldie, sets off for Chechnya to see her grandson whom she hasn’t seen in years. As soon as she arrives, she starts interacting with the soldiers who are stationed in the Chechen base.  It constitutes an important contribution to the discussion on war, its nature, what it brings, whether it’s necessary, etc. Sokurov — who himself was born into a military family — never gives us a direct answer, but what we see on screen definitely makes us pose the question, an answer to which might seem blatantly trivial. However, trivial as it may seem, there still isn’t a satisfactory solution to the constant problem of waging wars.

Throughout her stay in the base, Alexandra has a few conversations with her grandson, who serves as a captain in the Russian army, and these discernibly show the prevalent feeling of senselessness and looming uncertainty, even amongst Russian officers. Such approach enforces the dubiety towards war which should be deeply ingrained in people. Alexandra shows us around the base, soldiers’ daily routines, and even lets us see weaponry such as assault rifles and military vehicles at close range.  The putative juxtaposition of devices designed and used to kill as though they were everyday utensils is a veritably gruesome eyesore. We don’t need to see anybody blown up to pieces to realize what these weapons are capable of doing. The nature of war is also shown in Denis’s statements about killing in which he seems to be questioning his humanity. He’s visibly tired of taking other people’s lives.

When Alexandra ‘goes AWOL’ to the market, we can see the hopelessness of the Chechens, which is literally etched in their faces. There, she comes across a Chechen woman, Malika, who takes Alexandra to her home so that she can take a rest. This scene, the best in the movie in my opinion, perfectly conveys the message of pointlessness of war, and how it affects people who are directly and indirectly involved in it. There is one line which especially rings in one’s ears: when Alexandra says to Malika that she’s so good, the Chechen replies: “Why be bad?”.  A question with which the audience remains long after the showing. The answer “Because it brings nothing but pain, destruction, loneliness.” seems to be of no avail as Denis sets off for another mission…

The movie might not appeal to regular moviegoers due to its static and dreary pace, but it’s certainly worth watching for anyone who doesn’t need an abundance of special effects and action. You should also be fond of a very mood music which slightly bears resemblance to the one of Stone’s “Platoon”.

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