An Ordinary Execution
June 10, 6:30pm
Kirkland Performance Center

Based on his own hugely successful novel of the same name, Marc Dugain’s debut feature, An Ordinary Execution, describes an imagined encounter between the aging Joseph Stalin and a young doctor with extraordinary healing abilities, brought in to treat the escalating physical woes of his old age after his own doctor has been “purged.” The apprehension of the young woman, Anna, as she enters the menacing milieu of the old tyrant is palpable, with her having to put up with his daily ranting and ramblings, which subtly start to reveal his warped philosophy of terror. His innately suspicious nature, unable to tolerate her having loyalties elsewhere, leads to her husband being thrown into jail, while Anna is helpless inside the Kremlin attempting to ease Stalin’s aches and pains. The film adds further fuel to the fire of speculation about how Stalin (played here by one of France’s national treasures, André Dussolier, in a piece of inspired casting) actually died, but at heart it is a piercing insight into the mind of a dictator. Brilliantly shot to reflect the grimness of oppression, and filled with tension and mystery, An Ordinary Execution is a compelling addition to the canon of examinations of police states.

Director Marc Dugain is scheduled to attend

To watch trailer and read more about the screening, please visit: http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=43613&FID=166