Aleksandr Sokurov’s strange and dusty fable Alexandra charts the unlikely visit of an old Russian woman, Alexandra (Galina Vishnevskaya) to her grandson’s desert garrison in Chechnya. He is a decorated hero. She is a cantankerous old wench. Whether such a meeting could be engineered in reality is beside the touching point.

This grumpy and maternal view of the miserable life of a frontline Russian soldier is a withering critique on one of Europe’s most sapping and debilitating conflicts. The gawky young soldiers don’t know how to deal with Alexandra as she trundles from her tent to visit the front lines.

The scene where Galina spends a magical day with the women stall-holders at a local Chechen market brings home the profound rifts without spilling a single angry word. Apart from a thoroughly irritating background track of schmaltzy classical music, this is Sokurov at his shortest and most digestible.

PG, 92 minutes

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