Alexandra (2008)

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The setting is Chechnia and the soldiers are Russian, but this could be Afghanistan--it is the story of an occupying force and what that does--to the occupier and the occupied.
This is not a heavy handed anti-war movie. Not at all. And it is not just about the occupation of Chechnia. It is about the character of Russians. It is subtle in many ways. “Alexandra” isn’t a difficult film, but neither is it obvious. It’s a beautiful, eerie work of art about life and death and the love a grandson expresses when he plaits his grandmother’s hair. It has revealed some of its mysteries, and I’m sure it will reveal more over time.

Alexandra is the grandmother of Denis, who is a career soldier stationed in a ramshackle military post in Chechnia. Alexandra is picked up by a train (a cargo train filled with soldiers--there is no first-class section. In fact there are no seats). She waddles into camp with a small shopping bag on wheels, which seems so fitting for this movie. She is a wonderful woman, warm yet piercing eyes, and a tactful way of conveying all that she is thinking and feeling. She is befriended by women in the nearby village, and she finds that she is more like them than different front hem. there she sees the civilian side of the occupation, and we get a chance to feel some empathy for their plight. The filmmaker is lovingly showing two sides of a complex story, as seen through the eyes of a grandmother and widow. Just very poignant and powerful.