Death of Stalin

2018 • 106 minutit

Teave selle filmi kohta

Proclaimed “the funniest political comedy of the year” (The Daily Beast), The Death of Stalin delivers a brutally executed parody of Cold War Russia. When the tyrannical ruler Stalin dies, his hapless inner circle scrambles to come up with the next evolution of the revolution – but it’s clear everyone is really out for themselves.  Written and directed by Emmy® Award winning and Oscar® nominated Armando Iannucci, Rolling Stone calls the film a “brilliant satire from a crack ensemble” (including Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Andrea Riseborough and Michael Palin). Proof that comedy, like politics, is all in the execution.

Hinnangud ja arvustused

I found this movie to be tedious, lacking in humor and rather pathetic. Learn a little about Stalin and you too may agree. I heard so many rave reviews, I was nothing but disappointed. I kept watching, waiting for the humor, and there were only weak attempts at best. I love satire, and almost every other genre of comedies, but this was just a huge waste of my time. And those I watched it with all agreed. If you did like it, I'm glad. I, for one, thought it was an embarrassment. And I felt bad for the group of actors, whom I love, having this on their resume. If I could give it negative stars, I would. Unfortunately that's not allowed.

I don't know why this gets 96%. It's somewhat funny and somewhat ironic and clever, but not in a laugh out loud way. Better than most American comedies, but still obvious, and in case you didn't miss it, it will spell it out to you. Significant British cast with some very venerable names, deliberately sidelined by the American lead, and stifled with a script of underwhelming slapstick.. Entertaining, but if you switch off for 10 minutes, you won't miss much.

The team known for reveling in the absurdity of British and American political incompetence and ruthlessness turn their eyes to the extreme politics of Stalinism. There is comedy here, the same faults and greed that this team highlights so well,, but the consequences are so much bigger. So grossly tragic. I feel the writing pull-back and make sure the audience understand just how awful the conditions of Stalinist Russia were. When it would have been tempting to clown and avoid the harsh realities, they choose to let them be seen in all their gravity. It's a brave choice, and while I think it will make for one of their least "yuk-it-up" pictures, it shows an empathy and intelligence that makes this film much more memorable than tasteless traipsing over tragedy would have been. I think this would have been a challenge to balance and I could not tell you how to have done it better, but it does feel a bit mispaced in the final act. However I still really enjoyed it.