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My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter (2014)

newyorker.com

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Re: My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter (2014)

#24

Post by rasz »

chasil wrote: post #7
chasil wrote: post #5

She was very lonely as her life went on, and longed for her homeland. This much I know about Svetlana, many who bear that name.

There was a story about Ayn Rand's sister. She came to visit in New York, and was bewildered by the vast array of toothpaste in a local grocery store. She was so accustomed to shortages, and expected queues, that she could not accept the immediacy and availability of commerce in the U.S. She did not stay long.

There seems to be a common theme to those. When Ceausescu visited NY he and his stupid wife (huge scientific fraud story on its own, including lot of reputable western universities going along with it) were sure Macy was just a show stocked specifically for them. I seem to remember him reacting by ordering to open a store just for show to western dignitaries/press.

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/22/archives/ceausescu-gets-9...

https://paperpile.com/blog/elena-ceausescu-scientist-fraud/

Similar story with Yeltsin visit to a small local grocery mart in Texas in 1989.

Re: My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter (2014)

#25

Post by rasz »

cm2187 wrote: post #19

On Stalin, I recommend the HBO movie "Stalin" with a Robert Duvall playing a very realistic Stalin. The movie also covers his tortuous relationship with his daughter. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105462/

The Death of Stalin (2017) is great, and wont bore younger audience.

Re: My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter (2014)

#26

Post by cm2187 »

rasz wrote: post #25
cm2187 wrote: post #19

On Stalin, I recommend the HBO movie "Stalin" with a Robert Duvall playing a very realistic Stalin. The movie also covers his tortuous relationship with his daughter. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105462/

The Death of Stalin (2017) is great, and wont bore younger audience.

Agree, but highly unrealistic (and barely covers Stalin).

Re: My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter (2014)

#27

Post by vlabakje90 »

cm2187 wrote: post #26
rasz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Death of Stalin (2017) is great, and wont bore younger audience.

Agree, but highly unrealistic (and barely covers Stalin).

It's obviously very unrealistic, but I read Robert Service's biography about Stalin and it's interesting to see how many details in the movie are inspired by real events. I recommend the biography by the way, it's engrossing.

Re: My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter (2014)

#28

Post by cm2187 »

vlabakje90 wrote: post #27
cm2187 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree, but highly unrealistic (and barely covers Stalin).

It's obviously very unrealistic, but I read Robert Service's biography about Stalin and it's interesting to see how many details in the movie are inspired by real events. I recommend the biography by the way, it's engrossing.

And also Iannucci managed to make a comedy while addressing the horror and brutality of his regime which I didn't think was possible (though there was also Benigni's Life is Beautiful). It's a comedy with an execution every 10 minutes.

The last season of the Revolutions podcast from Mike Duncan, mostly focuses on the Lenin era but does cover the ruthlessness of Stalin from way before he got even close to power, all the way to his accession to power.

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