Kremlin chaos in OM鈥檚 latest film
Armando Iannucci鈥檚 (1982, English) latest film,聽The Death of Stalin,聽is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20 October.
Based on the French graphic novel series by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, it tells the story of the chaos in the Kremlin that followed the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953.
A strong cast, which includes Simon Russell Beale, Michael Palin, Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor, play the rudderless rabble coming to terms with the loss of Uncle Joe, plotting, ploying and panicking as they do so.
Polly Jones, Schrecker-Barbour Fellow and Associate Professor in Russian at Univ, contributed to the film by providing historical background.
鈥�’The death of Stalin was unimaginable for most Soviet citizens, including his closest associates in the Kremlin, so total was his grip on the Soviet Union after nearly thirty years in power,” said Polly.
鈥淎rmando Iannucci’s film imagines the hours and days following Stalin’s demise聽as an absurd, chaotic and blackly humorous power struggle laced with sinister echoes of the worst excesses of Stalinism.
鈥淪imon Russell Beale is outstanding as Beria, the first member of the Politburo to try to seize power, but the cast is uniformly strong and the direction pitch-perfect.鈥�
Reviews have been glowing after initial screenings, with聽Empire聽calling it Armando鈥檚 鈥渕ost impressive feat yet鈥� and Peter Bradshaw from聽The Guardian聽calling聽it “the film of聽the year.”
We wish Armando 鲍诲补膷颈 with his film.
Published: 19 September 2017
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