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Written by Kevin Filipski
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 Alexandra (Cinema Guild) is Russian master Aleksandr Sokurov’s oblique, beautifully modulated account of modern-day wartime that touches on current events in Chechnya and. Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya—widow of cellist Mtislav Rostropovich—plays a grandmother visiting her grandson, a young officer, at the front. Once past the premise’s absurdity (would the Russian army allow such a dangerous visit?), Sokurov's drama becomes affecting, his usual slow, stately pace in evidence but tempered by Vishnevskaya's warm presence. Wonderfully humane scenes of generosity—particularly between Alexandra and a Chechen mother and her son—paint an indelible portrait of a world less fractured than our leaders believe. Also notable are the bleached-out colors of Aleksandr Burov's photography, which are stunningly rendered on DVD. Extras include an hour-long press conference with Sokurov and Vishnevskaya and Sokurov’s short Patience Labour.
Also available…
Nicholas Philibert’s Back to Normandy (Kino), the latest documentary from a director who records ordinary lives with care, finds him returning to Northern France to catch up with members of the local community who had parts in a movie 30 years earlier; his follow-up to The March of the Penguins, director Luc Jacquet’s The Fox and the Child is another tender, funny story about a girl’s unlikely friendship with a wild fox (New Line); High Hopes (LionsGate) is an unremarkable stoner comedy most of whose laughs come from Jason Mewes’ always gut-busting portrayal of a stereotypical pothead (lone extra: director commentary); an eye-opening documentary, A Jihad for Love (First Run), chronicles the extreme difficulties for gay and lesbian Muslims throughout the world (best extra: An American Muslim featurette); the offbeat Danish drama Just Another Love Story (Koch Lorber) follows its protagonist as he befriends an amnesiac woman, a ruse that has ultimately chilling consequences; Momma's Man (Kino), Azazel Jacobs' docudrama, is unnerving in its exploration of a grown man’s return to his parents’ home (best extra: conversation between Jacobs and his parents); the bloody remake of My Bloody Valentine 3D (LionsGate) at least has the gumption to put its crude thrills in 3D for extra oomph (best extra: 3D glasses!); New in Town (LionsGate) is about what you’d expect: it’s a painless romantic comedy set in a cold climate (brrrrr!) with cutesy Renee Zellweger and even cuter Harry Connick falling for each other (best extra: featurette about filming in Winnipeg); The Secrets (Monterey) stars legendary French actress Fanny Ardant in a overly melodramatic tale of repressed women working up the courage to succeed on their own; 1612 (E1) might not historically accurate, but its colorful depiction of Russian torn apart by power struggles following the death of Tsar Boris Godunov is riveting drama (best extra: 40-minute behind-the-scenes featurette); A Thousand Years of Good Prayers/The Princess of Nebraska (Magnolia) pairs two low-key dramas by director Wayne Wang and writer Ylyun Li, who bring out the best in each other telling stories about displaced foreigners in strange lands (best extras: interviews with Ylyun Li); without Kate Beckinsale’s sultriness, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sony) is the least of the three Underworld films—not even scenery-chewing Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen can overcome its many deficiencies (best extra: 20-minute featurette including cast interviews); We Feed the World (KimStim) is yet another necessary cautionary tale showing how the profit motive and not worker or consumer safety is what is most important in the worldwide food business; in Wendy & Lucy (Oscilloscope), Michelle Williams gives a wonderfully modulated performance in this otherwise manipulative minimalist tearjerker about a young drifter who loses her pet dog, played wonderfully by director Kelly Reichardt’s own canine (lone extra: short films selected by Reichardt); the small town of Schenectady is the perfect location for Winter of Frozen Dreams (Monterey), a sobering if familiar tale of a top female student moonlighting as a prostitute and killer—Thora Birch and Keith Carradine help elevate it above the standard fare (best extra: 25-minute interview with Carradine); the best reason to see the corporate horror film Yella (Cinema Guild) is the powerful screen presence of actress Nina Hoss, whose transfixing performance nearly makes us forgive director Christian Petzold’s desperate Twilight Zone ending (lone extra: 45-minute German documentary about a corporate takeover similar to what's presented in the film); Chazz Palminteri and the rarely-seen Christine Lahti are wonderful together in Yonkers Joe (Magnolia), a small film about a small-time card shark looking for one last big score so he can better care for his mentally challenged son (best extra: cast and crew interviews).
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