Aleksandra | Rotten Tomatoes

Aleksandra

Released Mar 26, 2008

1h 35m

Drama

List

88%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

69%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Elderly Aleksandra (Galina Vishnevskaya) visits her Russian soldier grandson, Denis (Vasily Shevtsov), at the Chechen war front, providing comfort as she tours his army base. While there, Aleksandra surprises everyone by climbing into an armored vehicle and brandishing a Kalashnikov rifle. Afterward, venturing outside, she meets a Chechen woman in town who bemoans the number of occupying troops, then has other adventures. All the while, Denis ponders the reason for her unexpected appearance.

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Critics Consensus

At once ethereal and tangible, Aleksandr Sokurov's humane Chechen War drama features a spectacular turn by opera star Galina Vishnevskay.

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Rated: B

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

David Fear

Time Out

Rated: 5/5

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Rated: 3/4

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A rich and rewarding film, a deeply humanist work of art that is as tender as it is bracing.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 6, 2019

Full Review

Michael Sicinski

Cinema Scope

Alexandra is a film made by someone who wants to talk, which is an admirable gesture. It's just not the correct one.

Nov 27, 2017

Full Review

Daniel Kasman

MUBI

The film had so beautifully evoked this tenor of decamped emotional ties, of a people cared for forever traveling away from home, by conflating the grandmother's searching familial love with the isolated, forlorn faces of the soldiers...

Nov 17, 2017

Full Review

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Audience Member

An elderly woman takes a train trip to visit her grandson at his army camp inside Chechnya. The brief synopsis completely covers the entire plot of the picture. Very little else happens apart from some slightly strange sexual tension. The film is well shot though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sokurov was a genius in his pieces on the Hermitage and the Japanese emperor. Here he takes us on a slow journey to prove that the Russians shouldn't be in Grozny. For once the master storytelling seems unable to make the compelling case.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Once again, I find myself at odds with critics. Whilst the message of the film is strong and good the idea of watching a Russian grandmother walkaround a Russian army base for 90 minutes giving out her views to anyone who listens aint my idea of a good film

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

My second Sukoruv film and although it doesn't dazzle like Russian Ark it is incredibly poignant. Slow and melancholy with plenty to engage with.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Reza K

its the proof of that how your rhythm could be slow but not boring. a war film but different from all other ones that you watched till now.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/19/12

Full Review

Audience Member

An entertaining meditation on the relationship one grandmother has on her grandson, as she is with him while he is engaged in military duty.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

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Aleksandr Sokurov

Director

Galina Vishnevskaya

Alexandra

Vasily Shevtsov

Denis

Raisa Gichaeva

Malika

Aleksandr Sokurov

Writer

Laurent Danielou

Producer

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Synopsis

Elderly Aleksandra (Galina Vishnevskaya) visits her Russian soldier grandson, Denis (Vasily Shevtsov), at the Chechen war front, providing comfort as she tours his army base. While there, Aleksandra surprises everyone by climbing into an armored vehicle and brandishing a Kalashnikov rifle. Afterward, venturing outside, she meets a Chechen woman in town who bemoans the number of occupying troops, then has other adventures. All the while, Denis ponders the reason for her unexpected appearance.

Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Producer: Laurent Danielou
Screenwriter: Aleksandr Sokurov
Distributor: Cinema Guild
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Russian
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 26, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 18, 2010
Runtime: 1h 35m

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