Moscow, March 1953: in the days following the death of Joseph Stalin, countless citizens flooded the Red Square to mourn their leader’s loss and witness his burial. Though the procession was captured in detail by hundreds of cameramen, their footage has remained largely unseen until now.

Sergei Loznitsa’s reconstruction of Stalin’s funeral is an enthralling immersion into the power of authoritarianism and the cult of personality. With its monumental pomp, mourning masses, distraught individuals, and hints of a Soviet power struggle, the film reveals an astonishing moment of history.