Spiritual Voices

Technically, this epic (near-six-hour) multipart documentary is about the bleak, depressing tour of duty Russian soldiers endured on the remote, inhospitable mountain boundary between Tajikistan and Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. But, since this is the work of highly idiosyncratic director Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark), it's as far from conventional as one could imagine--a fact made abundantly clear in the first of the five episodes, a half-hour consisting entirely of a single static time-lapse shot of a grove of evergreens set against a photogenic peak, underscored by long excerpts from several of Mozart's piano concerti, accompanied by Sokurov's own ruminations on how difficult it must have been for so extraordinary a genius to mesh with the ordinary realities of life. The subsequent four programs are more straightforward--following the troops as they go about their business in difficult terrain and a harsh climate--but only in one segment, when the soldiers engage in battle, does the treatment offer any visceral excitement. Otherwise, the emphasis is on the monotony of their service, which many viewers will feel is conveyed too effectively. Of course, Sokurov's work has never been about narrative, but rather the visual aspects of cinema, and here he often creates a hypnotic effect through his painterly compositions and emphasis on stillness and repetition. Those already in tune with his very individual approach are likely to consider Spiritual Voices entrancing, even profound, while others will undoubtedly find it turgid and unbearably pretentious. DVD extras include DVD-ROM material on Sokurov and his short film Soldier's Dream (which is also incorporated in Spiritual Voices itself). Sokurov's similarly-themed 1998 documentary Confession, set on a Russian naval ship, is also newly available. An optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)