Confession d'un capitaine - Povinnost'

The theme of military life has long been interpreted by Alexandre Sokurov as an existential one, and frontier service — on land or at sea — as a metaphor of human behaviour. Mandatory military service, one of the great institutions of the now shattered Russian regime, is seen by the author as an inevitable feature of reality, affecting everyone: male and female, those having served in the army or those who avoided it. In "Confession", Sokurov uses the camera to transform real people — naval officers — into characters and shows their submission, lack of freedom, seclusion and the monotony of their daily routine. For the dialogue Sokurov uses the worried meditations of the main character, the ship's commander, about his fate and profession, and the young captain appears as the author's alter ego. Like in “Spiritual Voices”, this chronicle does not resemble any standard television form, but is rather a traditional literary one: a lyrical diary.