The Trial (2018)
The Trial
”Top economists and engineers face death in a fabricated trial under Stalin's command.”
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Why watch this film?
This documentary, composed entirely of archive footage, builds a political narrative about the danger of totalitarianism. The content of its images are various recordings of one of Moscow's famous trials, practically staged in the Soviet Union under Stalin's command, where a group of high-ranking engineers and economists are accused of crimes they did not commit. The recordings emphasize the theater created, highlighting how the trial was much more of a power show than an exercise of law. Intercut with images of protests, the documentary is a powerful historical document, providing interesting perspectives on the evils of absolute control.
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Plot summary
In 1930 in Moscow, USSR. the Soviet government puts a group of top rank economists and engineers on trial, accusing them of plotting a coup d’état. The charges are fabricated and the punishment, if convicted, is death.
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