Monday, May 25, 2009
WAR AND PEACE
Today's film was
A grandmother travels to Russian occupied Chechnya to visit her officer grandson who is on duty there.
This is the quintessential small picture with a big message. Age and youth. War and peace. Men and women. Enemy and friend. Kindness that transcends national antagonisms.
The grandmother is an alien. An old lady in a war zone. From the beginning one rebels at the thought that she is there but it is possible and, in fact, a regular feature of Russian military life. She belongs there. She has a pass! And she has the indomitable strength of wisdom and age to get her by.
She doesn't follow the prescribed routine. She even goes outside the military barrier to a market where she finds some Chechnyan friends.
There is a lingering anxiety in watching this that she will get into trouble. I won't spoil the tension that you might experience if you see this movie.
It is beautifully done.
There are some heartbreaking sections where young soldiers stare at her and see "home". Their faces tell the story. This is a "show don't tell" movie.
The grandmother is played by the "great opera diva Galina Vishnevskaya". She is awesome. Her face shines. She has the presence of life itself.
The director, Alexander Sokurov, is the guy who did the fabulous one shot film Russian Ark (2000) a few years ago.
This is a wonderful film.
I would gladly see it again. I am sure that I missed a lot on the first pass. A 4 out of Netflix5.
