Josef Stalin, general secretary of the Soviet Union, thug, and all around murderous megalomaniac, has died. What follows this massively consequential non-tragedy is a mad scramble for power as members of the Politburo amass what support they can for their respective claims to be next in line. Infighting amongst them is inevitable and spills out of the halls of Kremlin in the form of generalized chaos and further deaths that culminate in the installation of another ruthless dictator as new leader of the USSR in a chain of oppression and tyranny that will last for decades further. Setting a comedy in such a grim context may strike you as being in poor taste, but rest assured The Death of Stalin, a 2017 dark comedy directed by Armando Iannucci and based on the graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, is punching up, WAY up. This under-watched gem lampoons its monstrous subjects with merciless wit, all while grounding its bleakly hilarious barbs and digs in an ever-present, sober awareness that all this bumbling, brutal politicking had a very real and very tragic impact on the lives of Soviet citizens. With that searing fact in mind, then, let’s all enjoy a good laugh at the expense of some of the most despicable men of the last century. Let’s watch!
