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Kazakhstan, Russia, Poland · 2008
1h 37m
Director Rustem Abdrashov
Starring S. Kunushaliyeva, Bakhtiar Khoja, Yekaterina Rednikova, Dalen Shintemirov
Genre Drama
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The Gift to Stalin tells the story of a little Jewish boy named Sasha who is sent to Kazakhstan. He is saved from death by an old Kazakh man, Kasym, who takes the boy into his home. The film is set in 1949 and is based on the memoirs of David Markish.
The Gift to Stalin could have benefited from a less complex approach, something that would've actually hit the notes the filmmaker had aimed for. Unfortunately, he needed to try it all. Little of it succeeds, which can be rather draining at times, and not in the way he intended it to be.
The historical tragedy that's dramatized is heartrending; the movie itself is merely one cliché piled atop another.
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Immersed in the alien beauty of the Kazakh steppe, "The Gift to Stalin" moves slowly but engages thoroughly.
Beautifully filmed and well-acted, "The Gift to Stalin," directed by Rustem Abdrashev, has its schmaltzy, cliched moments, including an unnecessary finale in Jerusalem.