As a former Soviet citizen I couldn't tear my eyes away from this.
An EXTREMELY dark film, whose humour is truly funny - yet some is horrifying while being funny. We sat watching, and a few times laughed and then gasped because of what we were laughing at.
There are some tremendous performances in this - David Suchet as Beria is jaw-droppingly perfect in this. A complete and utter slimebag to everyone under him, but a simpering, comic toady to Stalin. When asked questions by Stalin, he raises his hands and says "Do what you like with me, I do not know" as if it's a game show - had us rolling.
Colin Blakely plays Stalin like a loving old grandfather, a cunning peasant who's smarter than the situation he finds himself in, and a cold blooded antisemitic murderer - all in the same character, but he does it so seamlessly that it's not incongruous.
David Kelly as Sergo is absolutely tremendous. I can't do it justice.
During the execution scene, you recognise all the underlings being shot... it's piteously hilarious that they make SURE that they're in the proper numbered spots... and the projectionists continuing to bicker literally 'til the end is so utterly perfect.
This truly grasps the essence of what life in Stalinist USSR was like... the absurdity, the braggadocio, the terror... Unlike the - very good! - "Death Of Stalin", this is sometimes slapstick and buffoonish but also deadly serious... As a Brezhnev-era Soviet person, I would say this is actually a few notches BETTER.
The only scene that is very odd is the one with the American reporter. While the projectionists' dilemma & the Politburo panic is excellent (especially when you see them all in a mountain of film - the interaction of Stalin and the reporter - and her entire character - is... very, very odd and out of place in the rest of the film. It's the only reason I can't give this a full 10.
I wholeheartedly recommend this film.
An EXTREMELY dark film, whose humour is truly funny - yet some is horrifying while being funny. We sat watching, and a few times laughed and then gasped because of what we were laughing at.
There are some tremendous performances in this - David Suchet as Beria is jaw-droppingly perfect in this. A complete and utter slimebag to everyone under him, but a simpering, comic toady to Stalin. When asked questions by Stalin, he raises his hands and says "Do what you like with me, I do not know" as if it's a game show - had us rolling.
Colin Blakely plays Stalin like a loving old grandfather, a cunning peasant who's smarter than the situation he finds himself in, and a cold blooded antisemitic murderer - all in the same character, but he does it so seamlessly that it's not incongruous.
David Kelly as Sergo is absolutely tremendous. I can't do it justice.
During the execution scene, you recognise all the underlings being shot... it's piteously hilarious that they make SURE that they're in the proper numbered spots... and the projectionists continuing to bicker literally 'til the end is so utterly perfect.
This truly grasps the essence of what life in Stalinist USSR was like... the absurdity, the braggadocio, the terror... Unlike the - very good! - "Death Of Stalin", this is sometimes slapstick and buffoonish but also deadly serious... As a Brezhnev-era Soviet person, I would say this is actually a few notches BETTER.
The only scene that is very odd is the one with the American reporter. While the projectionists' dilemma & the Politburo panic is excellent (especially when you see them all in a mountain of film - the interaction of Stalin and the reporter - and her entire character - is... very, very odd and out of place in the rest of the film. It's the only reason I can't give this a full 10.
I wholeheartedly recommend this film.