Dead funny satire of ruthless politics
THE DEATH Of STALIN ★★★★ (Cert 15; 104mins)
ARMANDO Iannucci is the king of political satire. Nothing is out of bounds and nobody is safe from his merciless assault. The Death Of Stalin finds the creator of The Thick Of It and Veep pushing the boundaries further than ever, confidently negotiating dangerous ground in a tar-black farce unfolding in one of the most brutal dictatorships of the 20th century.
The Death Of Stalin is based on true events but is also an adaptation of a graphic novel. The film is savagely, often uproariously, comic but the laughter freezes on your lips as you question if something this horrible can ever be truly funny.
In Soviet Russia in 1953, everyone lives in fear. Paranoia is rampant with even the kindliest soul prepared to denounce their neighbour to the secret police. A careless word or an unthinking error can result in a knock on the door in the dead of night. Countless citizens disappear, never to be seen again.
Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) rules with an iron fist. Cross him and you will die or spend years in a labour camp. Then in 1953 Stalin suffers a fatal heart attack and the scramble for power brings out the very worst in a group of rivals that include scheming weasel Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), dithering fool Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor) and the monstrous Beria (Simon Russell Beale).
Iannucci and his co-writers David Schneider and Ian Martin turn the battle for succession into a madcap pantomime in which the fate of the country teeters between chaos and the slim hope of reform.
The events may be set more than 60 years ago but they feel chillingly relevant as we witness backstabbing, in-fighting, jockeying for position, naked ambition and a great deal of fake news. This is definitely a world in which history is written by the victors, facts can be manipulated to any end and you wouldn’t trust anyone to tell you what day of the week it was. You could be at a British political party conference rather than in Stalinist Russia.
The Death Of Stalin becomes very bleak. Life is cheap and morals are a luxury that nobody can afford. But Iannucci maintains the surreal farce of the situation by employing an exceptional cast.
Rupert Friend is on inspired form as Stalin’s booze-sodden, swashbuckling son Vasily, Michael Palin brings a touch of pathos to the meek, mild Molotov and Jason Isaacs has all the force of a charging rhino as the blustering war hero Zhukov.
The real stand-out performance comes from Simon Russell Beale as Beria, a conniving horror of a man who couldn’t find a sense of morality with a compass and a map.
None of the cast sports a Russian accent and somehow that makes everything stranger and funnier, especially with Jason Isaacs booming away in a broad Yorkshire brogue. The result is an original, troubling, deadly serious comedy.
DINA HHHH (Cert 15, 102mins)
DINA won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Festival this year and is a great example of the way documentaries allow you entry into other people’s lives.
Dina Buono is a feisty 48-year-old preparing to marry her fiancé Scott. Initially their relationship seems unremarkable as they move in together, share a pizza, watch Sex And The City and snuggle down for the night. But they are both on the autistic spectrum which makes life that bit more challenging for both of them.
It soon becomes apparent that the couple have some real difficulties. Dina is clearly a lot friskier than Scott. He might know what sex is but he doesn’t seem to want to experience it for himself.
Dina’s need to feel loved and desired grows all the more understandable when we learn of the tragedy that lies in her past.
This modest, sensitively handled documentary becomes as compelling as any drama in this heartbreaking production.
EARTH: ONE AMAzINg DAY ★★★ (Cert U; 95mins)
THE myriad wonders of the world are celebrated in the engaging documentary Earth: One Amazing Day.
Robert Redford narrates a day in the life of the planet but the real stars are the wildlife
photographers and the images they have captured, from a yawning panda at dawn’s first light to playful raccoons at night.
We see penguin colonies, fluttering hummingbirds, sleepy sloths, sperm whales and cuddly bears scratching in the woods.
Avid Sir David Attenborough watchers may have already seen elements of this film but there is plenty of new footage to make it well worth seeing.
I AM NOT A WITCH ★★★ (Cert 12A; 93mins)
AN INNOCENT young girl in Lusaka is accused of witchcraft in this promising debut from Zambian-born director Rungano Nyoni. When nine-year-old Shula (Margaret Mulubwa) refuses to confirm or deny the accusations, she is taken to a witch camp and bound with a white ribbon that will stop her taking flight.
Her ordeal is depicted with a combination of striking images, social satire and the potent sense of a youngster confronting the injustices and uncertainty of the adult world.