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State Funeral

Play trailer 1:31 Poster for State Funeral 2021 2h 15m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Mourners flock to Moscow's Red Square to attend Josef Stalin's funeral.
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State Funeral

State Funeral

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Critics Consensus

If State Funeral risks repetitiveness in its patient approach, the glimpse of history it offers remains a fascinating -- and frightening -- look at life under a totalitarian regime.

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Critics Reviews

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Nick Pinkerton Sight & Sound May 28
[Doesn’t] succinctly explain how the USSR moved from the spectacle of lamentation it depicts to the disavowal of Stalin a few short years later, but it allows a kind of gentle guidance in sorting through the dossier of visual evidence that it lays out. Go to Full Review Jay Weissberg Variety 05/29/2021
Both as film and as history, "State Funeral" stands as a canonical work. Go to Full Review Robert Abele Los Angeles Times 05/29/2021
In the loony seriousness of it all, "State Funeral" isn't spectator sport - it makes us active observers of a scary machinery, something to file away. Go to Full Review Erick Estrada Cinegarage 07/27/2022
State Funeral broaches the fear and the massive mistakes Russians allowed in the Stalinist regime, but it reflects upon a world where tyranny is forgiven for the same reasons: a structure of convenience and money. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Agustín Acevedo Kanopa La Diaria 03/30/2022
3.5/5
Loznitsa redoubles reality because not only does he reincorporate real images (with impeccable colorization and sound editing work), but he orders and edits them as the person in charge of filming that state funeral would have edited them. Go to Full Review Filipe Freitas Always Good Movies 07/23/2021
3.5/5
Packed with the faces of consternation and tears of despair, State Funeral is both remarkable and tedious. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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william d @acsdoug 05/30/2021 I found this film fascinating, albeit too long (how much footage of people carrying funeral wreaths do we really need to see anyway?) The film truly conveys what it was like in the Soviet Union immediately following Stalin's death. Despite the murder of more than 25 million of their fellow citizens the look of grief on the faces of the people appears genuine, proving the effectiveness of Soviet propaganda. See more Read all reviews
State Funeral

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Cast & Crew

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Sergei Loznitsa

Director

Sergei Loznitsa

Writer

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State Funeral

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State Funeral

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Movie Info

Synopsis Mourners flock to Moscow's Red Square to attend Josef Stalin's funeral.
Director
Sergei Loznitsa
Screenwriter
Sergei Loznitsa
Distributor
MUBI
Production Co
Atoms & Void
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
May 7, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 21, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.4K
Runtime
2h 15m