The Netherlands, Lithuania / 2019 / Russian / 135 minutes / DCP / Colour

In March 1953, the population of the Soviet Union flocked to honor thedeath of their controversial leader, Joseph Stalin. Assembled from beautifully restored archival footage, Loznitsa (The Trial, 43rd) observes this ostentatious display of mass mourning with a clinical detachment, allowing the images to paint a complicated portrait of a nation reeling from years of tyrannical rule. At a time when a number of world leaders are cementing their own autocratic positions of power, State Funeral is a chilling examination of the cult of personality.