This is a hilarious political comedy starring the ever-great Steve Buscemi. Set in the last days before Stalin’s death and the chaos that followed, it portrays the lack of trust and the random assassinations that characterized the Stalinist Soviet Union. Think of it as Veep meets Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator. Although to be fair, its dark comedy props are very different from the comedy that comes out today: where there are jokes they’re really smart, but what’s actually funny is the atmosphere and absurd situations that end up developing.
"It's funny; ten times funnier, by my reckoning, than it has any right to be, and more riddled with risk than anything that Iannucci has done before, because it dares to meet outrage with outrage."
— Anthony Lane
"Mixes hard shocks and big laughs to often dazzling effect."
— David Jenkins
When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?
BAFTA
1 win, 3 nominations
Sundance
1 nomination
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
European Film Awards
1 nomination
Steve Buscemi is so good in this. I could watch a three hour montage of Steve Buscemi being confounded and not get bored.