December 15, 2010
Based on the first part of his own novel Une exécution ordinaire, Marc Dugain’s film of the same name recounts the last days in the life of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, excellently portrayed by André Dussollier.
In this compelling story, young doctor Anna (Marina Hands) provokes both jealousy and adoration in her colleagues, due to her seemingly miraculous healing powers. She is brought in to treat an ailing Stalin after he hears about her gift, having purged all Jewish physicians from the Kremlin. Though terrified, Anna sets about relieving the dictator’s douleurs, at the expense of other relationships, most significantly that with her husband (Edouard Baer).
Although Dussollier undoubtedly steals the show as an ageing yet still ruthless Stalin, with his powerful, authoritative voice and persona, Marina Hands is also impressive as the understated Anna. Her encounter with Stalin heightens hers and her husband’s struggle with everyday life in a police state, where the fear of being denounced and arrested is always present. And it is very much Anna’s story, though structured around Stalin’s last days, with the camera barely leaving her side.
Though the plot is fictional, the film offers an intriguing insight into the mind of a dictator, as well as life in a police state. Simple scenes such as the one in which Anna and her husband have their identification checked on a bus constantly remind the audience of the dread and terror hanging over everyone, and there are several references to fear in the film. It is a very atmospheric film, reinforced by the cinematography and expressive music chosen. The grimness of oppression - both collective and individual – is captured by the gloomy, desaturated quality of the shots, intimate and almost claustrophobic.
An ordinary execution is, despite the constant tension, quite a slow-paced film, with little action, and the ending is rather predictable. Nevertheless, it offers a gripping study of both two individuals and a little understood period in history.
In this compelling story, young doctor Anna (Marina Hands) provokes both jealousy and adoration in her colleagues, due to her seemingly miraculous healing powers. She is brought in to treat an ailing Stalin after he hears about her gift, having purged all Jewish physicians from the Kremlin. Though terrified, Anna sets about relieving the dictator’s douleurs, at the expense of other relationships, most significantly that with her husband (Edouard Baer).
Although Dussollier undoubtedly steals the show as an ageing yet still ruthless Stalin, with his powerful, authoritative voice and persona, Marina Hands is also impressive as the understated Anna. Her encounter with Stalin heightens hers and her husband’s struggle with everyday life in a police state, where the fear of being denounced and arrested is always present. And it is very much Anna’s story, though structured around Stalin’s last days, with the camera barely leaving her side.
Though the plot is fictional, the film offers an intriguing insight into the mind of a dictator, as well as life in a police state. Simple scenes such as the one in which Anna and her husband have their identification checked on a bus constantly remind the audience of the dread and terror hanging over everyone, and there are several references to fear in the film. It is a very atmospheric film, reinforced by the cinematography and expressive music chosen. The grimness of oppression - both collective and individual – is captured by the gloomy, desaturated quality of the shots, intimate and almost claustrophobic.
An ordinary execution is, despite the constant tension, quite a slow-paced film, with little action, and the ending is rather predictable. Nevertheless, it offers a gripping study of both two individuals and a little understood period in history.