The Death of Stalin

 

I finally got around to watching a film I've been meaning to watch since 2017: The Death of Stalin.

Directed by Armando Iannucci, The Death of Stalin is a comedy (yes you read that right) depicting the death of the Soviet dictator and the struggle for power amongst the Soviet power elite in the following days.

The cast is damn good with amongst others, Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, Michael Palin as Molotov and Jason Isaacs as Field Marshal Zhukov. Everyone is amazing here, there are no bad actors. No one stands out as a failure.

The sets are gorgeous. From Stalin's dacha to the Kremlin to well everything, it looks gorgeous. Nothing to complain about, nothing.

The dialog? Amazing. The best part of a good movie. You'll notice that all the actors are speaking in their native accents, there are no fake Russian accents to be seen anywhere, and this is deliberate. Partially because the Soviet Union was a huge place comprising of many different nations and dialects, but also to help the actors improvise without worrying about dialect. The end result is that everyone comes across as people not characters. I think it may have been a risky choice by Iannucci, but it really paid off.

The dialog is also the most important part of the movie since most of the film is the characters talking, well yelling really, at each other. This is also where the comedy comes in. The actions taken are actually really brutal and sometimes quite bloody.

A legit question is why is this a comedy? I have no hard answers, but when you discuss something like this, with the executions, the terror, the suffering, and the paranoia you have to either go super serious or then you laugh. Basically you can cry or laugh and laughing works. The other part is the sheer absurdity involved in a pompous dictatorship and that is pretty funny. Besides, there are already several good movies about the subject matter that aren't comedies.

As to accuracy, the film takes many liberties. In broad strokes it follows history, but most details are made up. It's a comedy not a documentary.

The Death of Stalin is utterly absurd, and I loved every minute. When it ended, I was surprised that 107 minutes had passed so quickly. I definitely recommend it, do watch it.

Finally a couple of facts. This movie got banned in Russia, to no ones surprise. Also, Zhukov's uniform is covered in medals, but not as many as he had for real. The film makers removed a lot of them to make it seem more realistic. I also loved seeing Jason Isaacs in a movie where I could like him. He is perhaps most known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, and I don't like Malfoy.

That's that. Join me again next time and until then have a great week and stay safe!