'Alexandra'

Rating:

John Anderson

March 28, 2008

A fascination with the physical has marked many of the films of the great Alexander Sokurov, whether it's youth and vigor ("Father and Son"), age and infirmity ("Mother and Son") or the stamina of his cameraman (the famously single-take "Russian Ark").

In "Alexandra," war and siege are reflected in the weary form of the title character (played by 81-year-old Russian opera star Galina Vishnevskaya), who travels by troop train to visit her grandson, a captain at an army outpost in Chechnya. Sokurov's filmmaking is exquisite - the khaki palette, the palpable filth, the gun oil, the sweat all leap off the screen, but it's Vishnevskaya's performance that is his most tangible asset.

In every halting step, and every knowing look, she tells you that life may indeed be nasty and brutish. But it's definitely short. And there are more important things in it than war.

ALEXANDRA (unrated). With Vasily Shevtsov. 1:32. In Russian with English subtitles. At Film Forum, Manhattan.