Une Exécution Ordinaire

Une Exécution Ordinaire (2010)

Genres - Drama, Family & Personal Relationships, Historical Film  |   Sub-Genres - Period Film, Psychological Drama  |   Run Time - 105 min.  |   Countries - France  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

Novelist Marc Dugain both wrote and directed this screen adaptation of his novel about the last days of one of the 20th Century's most infamous leaders. In 1952, Jospeh Stalin (Andre Dussollier) is in failing health after a long tenure as the unquestioned ruler of the Soviet Union. Stalin is also in the market for a new personal physician, as his longtime doctor has fallen to one of the leader's frequent purges of people he regards as untrustworthy. Anna (Marina Hands) is a doctor who has a fine rapport with her patients, and some believe she has a gift for healing that goes beyond the abilities of modern medicine. Anna is recruited by Stalin's underlings to become the ruler's new doctor. Anna and Stalin get along well at first, but as he opens up to her, she discovers that beneath his charm is emotional instability and a vindictive streak that borders on madness. Anna also gets a personal taste of the dictator's methods when she mentions her troubles having a child with her husband Vasily (Edouard Baer); not long after Stalin recommends a divorce, Vasily is visited by the secret police and ends up in a forced labor camp. While Anna has sworn to do no harm, she begins to ponder just is at stake as she tries to keep Stalin alive and well. Une exécution ordinaire (aka An Ordinary Execution) was an official selection at the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival.

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Keywords

conflict, dictator, divorce, doctor, husband, labor-camp, leader, patient [medical], secret-police, Soviet-Union