Fatherland is a 2018 short film from Georgia (the one in the Eastern Hemisphere), directed by George Sikharulidze.
It is March 5, 2016, the 63rd anniversary of the death of one of the all-time great mustache-wearers, Joseph Stalin. The setting is Stalin's hometown of Gori, where he is still idolized. The good folks of Gori gather together to commemorate the passing of their favorite son. After a speech and a ceremonial reading of a poem written by the young Stalin, the villagers head off to the church to light candles in his memory.
They are pretty surprised to see Joseph Stalin himself, apparently having come back to life standing in the middle of the road.
Shot on location in Gori. The Stalin statue seen in the film is on the grounds of the Stalin museum.
Tropes:
- all lowercase letters: The opening title is represented in English as "fatherland".
- Chest of Medals: All the old coots that show up for the memorial ceremony are wearing their old Soviet-era uniforms and have chests bedecked with Soviet-era medals.
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: The real Stalin did in fact smoke a pipe and in this movie the rematerialized Stalin is puffing on a pipe in the scene where the citizens of Gori come by to pay homage.
- Foreshadowing: The ceremonial dinner is staged as a "Last Supper" Steal. Later, Stalin enters the hotel room where he's apparently staying the night, and sees an object on the wall covered by a cloth. He takes off the cloth and discovers that it's a crucifix. At the climax of the film Stalin is crucified by the villagers.
- "Last Supper" Steal: When the town has a dinner for Stalin, the scene is staged like The Last Supper, with Stalin as Jesus. This also foreshadows the end of the film.
- Magical Realism: Joseph Stalin materializes in his old hometown, and the villagers debate how to handle it.
- Messianic Archetype: Stalin as Jesus. He appears to the people of the town, who, rather than sharing him with the rest of the world, crucify him.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Stalin is definitely corporeal, as the citizens hold him by the arms while taking him to his crucifixion and he is then nailed to a cross. But his body disappears from the cross, and he does not appear in the pictures that the photographer took of the dinner.
- Shout-Out: If the "Last Supper" Steal shot weren't enough, there's also a reproduction of the actual painting "The Last Supper" seen on the wall in the scene where the locals are debating whether or not to announce Stalin's resurrection.
- The Voiceless: Stalin, or the ghost of Stalin, never speaks. He only moans in pain when he's being nailed to a cross (and even then he's offscreen).
