The Death of Stalin

[peter]

Armando Iannucci's horror-satire on the events surrounding and following Stalin's death is a difficult watch, not least because of the terror that "seeps like a fog" through the production, because you know that these things actually happened - only worse - in reality. The cast make no attempt at faux Russian accents, rather preferring to keep to their own true ones - thus we are treated to cockney, American and straight English all mingling as the various members of the inner Committee ....... and it works! Somehow the surreal events of living in Stalin's Russia are conflated with a black humour, the whole sitting on a base of uneasy subliminal dread. It really is a clever bit of film making and a good story to boot. Steve Buschemi excels as Nikita Khrushchev as does Simon Russell Beal as the frightening NKVD head Lavrenitiy Beria. This will release in America in march and I thoroughly recommend going to see it.

[Fist and Faith]

Never heard of this. Sounds great!

[peter]

Saw this for a second time a couple of days ago - and absolutely loved it. Much more than the first viewing (how does that work?)

Was prompted to do so by a comment in the media that during our PM's recent hospitalisation, the behind the scenes activity in the Cabinet had, while preserving a modicum of collective agreement in public, descended into a similar (if not so lethal) morass of cabalism and infighting as ambitious members manouvered themselves into position in case 'the worst should happen'. Oh yes, I can just imagine it and the watching of this film was a joy of cynical comparison to our current times. See this film. Just see it.

[Damelon]

Good movie. I saw it last year. In addition to Steve Buscemi and Simon Michael Beal, I liked Michael Palin as Molotov.