Cinematic Deconstruction of Stalin

Repentance, a Georgian film, is a surrealist examination of totalitarianism. Varlam, the film's protagonist has Hitler's mustache, Mussolini's black shirt, Stalin's haircut and Beria's physical likeness. The immediate effect of this is to equate Stalin and Beria to their Second World War fascist enemies.

Set around the trial of a woman who exhumes Varlam's body following his death, Repentance gives a frightening look into the lunacy of Stalin's terror. The woman's parents, as well as countless others, are arrested and killed at the hands of the pompous Varlam.

The film is wrought with symbolism, but at its core is a theme of lost morality. Ketevan, the woman on trial, losses her parents because of her artist father's request that the local church not be turned into a laboratory. Varlam's grandson is made aware of his grandfather's crimes during the trial. He enters into a moral debate with his father which ends in the child committing suicide. Varlam's son, too, is forced to question his own morals. He has benefited from Varlam's injustices, and is unwilling to admit his father's crimes. Privately, however, Varlam's son is torn apart. In a dream, he visits a catacomb to ask repentance from a priest. After explaining his conflict between his son's morality and his father's injustice, he is exposed to the devil: his father.

The fate of the nation (symbolized by both Varlam's son and grandson) is left unclear. The grandson's suicide may be the death of a nation. However, at the end of the film, Varlam's son is seen throwing a body of a cliff. It is not clear whose body it is. If it is Varlam's body, then the man is rejecting his father's past and there is room from new life. If it is the grandson's body, then the man is merely covering up the truth again and the nation will remain sick.

An open, honest discussion of the crimes of Stalin is needed in the Soviet Union. To ignore the past is to accept it. As a new generation learns about its past, they will undoubtedly have questions. Not examining the Stalin question will lead to their collective death. As explanation for her repeated exhuming of Varlam's body, Ketevan offers this advise:

Burying him means forgiving him.

I Served In Stalin's Bodyguard is a documentary, but lacks a voice over narration telling the audience what to think. Instead, one of Stalin's own cronies convicts Stalin. Rybin, the film's central character, coolly talks about being a "little man" surrounded by "well-wishers" who helped him "do his work." Translation: he relied on informants to arrest and murder common citizens. This was all done out of reverence for Stalin. Rybin talks of Stalin as a father-like figure who could do no wrong. Contrasting this image of Stalin with Rybin's account of mass murder acts to undercut Stalin's prestige. Stalin's presence as a great leader is unknowingly mocked by one of his more ardent supporters.

Inner Circle also presents Stalin through the eyes of a believer. This is a fictional portrayal of Stalin's personal photographer. Ivan, the photographer, is presented as a political stooge. His wife asks him at one point who he loves more, Stalin or her. The answer, of course, is Comrade Stalin. Like I Served In Stalin's Bodyguard, Inner Circle does not directly attack Stalin. Instead, the absurdness of those who followed Stalin is put on display. Stalin is an omni-present force which influences others to do Stalin's bidding.

These films serve not only to destroy Stalin's image, but to warn future generations of the of consequences of blindly following such a leader.
Official Deconstruction
Visual Deconstruction
Literary Deconstruction
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Jake Fey
x9e0@music.stlawu.edu