Movie:The Death of Stalin

Loosely based on a true story

Once I get past the gruesomeness of the constant executions, I do find the humour. The film is littered with one liners delivered with precision by a well-rounded cast.One could argue, do we see the funny side of a dictator executing anyone who gets in his way, or frankly, anyone he doesn’t like or knows too much? But that’s how we deal with the darkness of life; by adding light.The film centres on the chaos after Stalin’s death. The guards are too petrified to go into his room even when they suspect all is not right. When an employee insists on taking in the refreshments at the usual time, she finds him collapsed on the floor and alerts his senior ministers. Still they are at a loss as to what to do as no one things they are senior enough to make the decision to call a doctor. In any case, all the doctors are dead, having found themselves on the Russian leader’s hit list.After all of this, there is the shambolic funeral as the power struggles intensify as to who is to succeed him.There is the hilarious scene where just as a concert is finishing, word is sent to the theatre that Stalin would like a recording. The cast are prompt ordered to perform again and an audience dragged of the street to create the genuine acoustics in order for the recording to happen. There is plenty of humour littered around the dead bodies and those being dragged to the gulag or to face immediate execution.That pretty much sets off how afraid everyone is of this one man, who is now lying in a casket and the whole country seemingly wants to line up in the cold to pay their respects. Or maybe check he really has died.6/10