Alexandra
Directed by Alexander Sokurov

By Travis Mackenzie Hoover

Alexander Sokurov is the kind of master who amazes and infuriates in equal measure — there’s no denying his artistry or his seriousness but his grandiose sweep of the arm can sometimes lapse into arrogance. But no matter what political assumptions he makes during the short running time of Alexandra, the sensitivity he brings to the material forgives all sins.

The Alexandra of the title is an elderly woman visiting Chechnya for the sake of her soldier son; she’s taken into his encampment and witnesses the boys as they play with their guns, gobble down her gifts of food and blithely accept the fact that they’ve been sent off to die. Our heroine is stunned at this, as is Sokurov, and as she wanders out of the camp and back to it we see her desire to live differently.

The movie is a nuanced and sensuous portrait of military life like nothing since Claire Denis’s Beau Travail. Though it sadly evades a proper position on the Chechnya conflict, its evocation of a normalised war culture and the lack of resistance surrounding it are better than most films can even imagine. So to are the director’s typically gorgeous golden hues and fluid, enveloping environment.

Cinematic critics of the Iraq war could learn a lot from this movie: its approach, which makes human what is usually idealised or demonised, might help break the deadlock between moralism and sympathy, which plagues the debate, as well as replacing the mushy rhetoric that vulgarises the discourse.

I’m not exactly sure that this is an anti-war movie but Sokurov’s beautiful plunge into the cosmic unfairness of it all was enough to lodge the movie in my brain and let it grow in significance with each passing day. (Proline/Rezo)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Dir. by Andrew Dominik
So, it’s official: Casey Affleck has finally upstaged his brother. As Robert Ford, the conflicted man who kills legendary American bandit Jesse James, Casey has established himself as the better Affleck. And it’s nearly impossible to ignore some eerie parallels with Casey’s uprising and his characte ...Read More
A Promise To The Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman - Dir. by Peter Raymont
Across the Universe - Dir. by Julie Taymor
American Venus - Dir. by Bruce Sweeney
Battle in Seattle - Dir. by Stuart Townsend
Beyond the Years - Dir. by Im Kwon-taek
Breakfast with Scot - Dir. by Laurie Lynd
Brick Lane - Dir. by Sarah Gavron
Captain Mike Across America - Dir. by Michael Moore
Chrysalis - Dir. by Julien Leclercq
Contre Toute Esperance (Summit Circle) - Dir. by Bernard Emond
Control - Dir. by Anton Corbijn
Emotional Arithmetic - Dir. by Paolo Barzman
Ex Drummer - Dir. by Koen Mortier
George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead - Dir. by George A. Romero
Heavy Metal in Baghdad - Dir. by Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti
Here Is What Is - Dir. by Adam Vollick, Adam Samuels & Daniel Lanois
Hollywood Chinese - Dir. by Arthur Dong
I’m Not There - Dir. by Todd Haynes
In The Valley Of Elah - Dir. by Paul Haggis
Into the Wild - Dir. by Sean Penn
It’s A Free World - Dir. by Ken Loach
Jimmy Carter Man From Plains - Dir. by Jonathan Demme
Joy Division - Dir. by Grant Gee
Just Buried - Dir. by Chaz Thorne
La Fille Coupee En Deux - Dir. by Claude Chabrol
Lust, Caution - Dir. by Ang Lee
Margot at the Wedding - Dir. by Noah Baumbach
Michael Clayton - Dir. by Tony Gilroy
Mister Lonely - Dir. by Harmony Korine
Mister Lonely - Dir. by Harmony Korine
My Enemy’s Enemy (Mon Meilleur Ennemi) - Dir. by Kevin MacDonald
My Kid Could Paint That - Dir. by Amir Bar-Lev
No Country For Old Men - Dir. by Joel and Ethan Coen
Nocturna - Dir. by Adria Garcia & Victor Moldanado
Normal - Dir. by Carl Bessai
Nothing Is Private - Dir. by Alan Ball
Persepolis - Dir. by Vincent Parronaud and Marjane Satrapi
Poor Boy’s Game - Dir. by Clement Virgo
Princess of Nebraska - Dir. by Wayne Wang
Redacted - Dir. by Brian De Palma
Rendition - Dir. by Gavin Hood
Run, Fatboy, Run - Dir. by David Schwimmer
Sad Vacation - Dir. by Shinji Aoyama
Shake Hands With The Devil - Dir. by Roger Spottiswoode
Sleuth - Dir. by Kenneth Branagh
Smiley Face - Dir. by Gregg Araki
Starting Out in the Evening - Dir. by Andrew Wagner
Sukiyaki Western Django - Dir. by Takashi Miike
Surfwise - Dir. by Doug Pray
Terra - Dir. by Aistomenis Tsirbas
The Babysitters - Dir. by David Ross
The Band’s Visit - Dir. by Eran Kolirin
The Brave One - Dir. by Neil Jordan
The Counterfeiters - Dir. by Stefan Ruzowitzky
The Edge of Heaven - Dir. by Fateh Akin
The Jane Austen Book Club - Dir. by Robin Swicord
The King of California - Dir. by Mike Cahill
The Mourning Forest - Dir. by Naomi Kawase
The Sun Also Rises - Dir. by Jiang Wen
The Tracey Fragments - Dir. by Bruce McDonald
The Visitor - Dir. by Thomas McCarthy
This Beautiful City - Dir. by Ed Gass-Donnelly
Une Vielle Maitresse - Dir. by Catherine Breillat
Useless - Dir. by Jia Zhangke
Very Young Girls - Dir. by David Schisgall
Walk All Over Me - Dir. by Robert Cuffley
Weirdsville - Dir. by Allan Moyle
White Lies, Black Sheep - Dir. by James Spooner
Young People Fucking - Dir. by Martin Gero
When IDM-techno producer HRDVSION (aka Nathan Jonson) hit the stage at this year's Mutek Festival, he was not only opening for like-minded international contemporaries like Mouse On Mars and Nathan Fake, he was also introducing Canadian audiences to a new live set and a new means of performing it.... Read More
Already a Canadian hip-hop icon whose foray into acting recently nabbed him a Gemini nomination, the man known to Canadians for letting his backbone slide is now adding author to his resume, with a book entitled Stick To Your Vision: How to Get Past the Hurdles and the Haters to Get Where You Want to Be hitting stores in early August.... Read More
The year is 1975, and a young Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) wants to play electric guitar just like the boys, showing that girls can rock just as hard with the same musical prowess, irreverence and countercultural rage. Enter eccentric music producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), a glam-ed up, phoney ... Full Review
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the October 2007 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front  •  Points  •  Comics  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Research  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Conversations • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  TIFF  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Label Life  •  Meet & Greet  •  Need to Know  •  What I Play Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues Privacy Policy