Aleksandra (Aleksandra Sokurov, 2007): Russia / France

The dramatic story of Aleksandra Sokurov which is a story about herself as an elderly woman that goes to see her grandson at his army camp. I thought the performance of Aleksandra Sokurov gave a wonderful portrayal of herself and the ever-long trip to see her grandson which brings many curiosities among the soldiers and the camp itself. I thought the story could have been summed up in a short, but the main point was to have an anti-war message to it and a long one that was dragged on too long.

The mise-en-scene included dim lighting or had a blue tone created by a blue filter. The soldiers were nicely creased such as all soldiers in uniform. Aleksandra was always in a long dress with her hair done up and very little makeup just like every other grandmother would dress. The cinematography was carried out with dramatic winds signifying change for Aleksandra created by Aleksadr Burov.The editing was done through one long shot barley using cuts created by Sergei Ivanov.The sound effects were done with winds and far off gun shots and the music was done by Andrei Sigle.

The form was done within a two day span throughout the development of Aleksandra’s journey to see her grandson.The patterns was the consistent curiosities and observations of Aleksandra. The repetition was the consistent questions she asked the soldiers and her constant body aches.The soldiers were also constantly staring at her and viewed her as elderly which is why they were consistently telling her where she couldn’t go and where she should be. The soldiers also perceived Aleksandra as their own grandmother opening up to her.

Overall, I was impressed by the editing and cinematography but the story lacked structure as well as a strong ending. I would recommend to see it on DVD. I’m surprised I didn’t fall asleep during the film and that Roger Durling said that this was one of his favorite films of the film festival.