the death of stalin…

Moira and I went along to the Watershed this afternoon to see Armando Iannucci’s “The Death of Stalin” - based on Fabien Nury’s graphic novel. The film paints a black-humour picture of Stalin’s sudden death in 1953 (in somewhat mysterious circumstances), following a cerebral haemorrhage, and the subsequent plotting and jostling for power by politicians from the Central Committee (who had previously cowered under Stalin’s dictatorial rule).
The film has a very impressive cast, including Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin, Adrian McLoughlin, Simon Russell Beale, Andrea Riseborough and Jason Isaacs (with a hilarious mix of Cockney, Brooklyn and Liverpudlian accents).
It’s both funny and tragic…

One can just imagine all the behind-the-scenes battles that must have taken place as various individuals sought political power - without, of course, giving Stalin any excuse for ‘eliminating’ them - but this, for me, only emphasised the similarities with the world leaders and governments of the present day: Putin ruling Russia in way that more or less ensures that any potential challenges to his leadership are avoided outright; Trump frequently being described as someone who is unfit to be president of the USA; and here in the UK, the 2016 EU Referendum result continuing to have huge repercussions – not the least of which is the ongoing, bitter power-struggle within the Conservative Party (and to some extent within the Labour Party).

After seeing the film’s trailer, I’d rather anticipated a bit of a knockabout, almost slapstick, saga that would have me rolling in the aisle. Yes, it WAS funny… but my overriding feeling was about just how many similar political power struggles are still being fought out on the world stage today. Somewhat frightening!
Iannucci’s film is a brilliant, albeit rather scary, satire on political ideology and thirst for power… and very well worth seeing.