The Inner Circle (1992)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

This movie is about a tragic figure – Sanshin, Joseph Stalin's movie projectionist, who wallows in his delusions about Stalin's greatness and infallibility, only to come to his senses when it is too late. Although the movie clearly has a political spin - the Soviet Union was bad place and Joseph Stalin a sinister and malevolent figure - it deals with a much broader fundamental theme. People choose to believe what they want, even if these beliefs do not conform to the facts. Thus, one might live in a slum and truly believe that they live in a palace and that things are good. For to acknowledge the truth is simply too painful. Sanshin believed that Stalin was looking out for the people; that Stalin could do no wrong; that Stalin was everything the newsreels claimed he was. It is easy to dismiss Sanshin as a naïve fool, but, as the movie shows, he was being bombarded by propaganda generated by a regime that controlled the distribution of information, all of which was pro-Stalin. To question the credibility of the government meant not only to place oneself and family at risk, but to question one's own personal beliefs. Thus, it is not unreasonable that Sanshin sang praises for Stalin. But what is one to do when reality and belief conflict? This question forms the crux of the story. Sanshin is forced to confront reality, with tragic consequences. By the end of the movie, Sanshin's dreams are shattered. He becomes a figure to be pitied, a victim of a system that exploited his loyalty and devotion for devious and self-serving purposes. Sanshin is us.

As an armchair historian who's read dozens of book on Stalin and the Soviet Union under his control, I was fascinated by this movie. A great cast helps underscore the paranoia, backstabbing, and fear of the Stalinist system as seen through the eyes of a small-time player who's been thrust into a very dangerous circle.Hulce is terrific as the simple, hard-working Soviet citizen who wants nothing more than to believe in the system that dominates his life, yet he knows it's a system riddled with traps and monsters. Hoskins is equally good as the real-life monster Beria - Stalin's chief of state security and main hatchet-man.A highly underrated movie.

After reading the comments of several Russians who have given their special insights on this film, I see no point in my going into detail about its plot. But, for the Americans who were bored with it... well, history is not your thing, to use the vernacular. For me, this movie exposed the odious nature of Soviet totalitarianism, and the complete human conformity that was required for survival. This is an important film.

There are a myriad of insightful techniques in this film that reveal themselves with repeated viewings. The recurring images of cows being led to slaughter are my favorites. A great tale of a horrible situation.That being said, I did not appreciate Russians speaking English with Russian accents. I compare it to the way the DeNiro film "Stalin" dealt with language. Ethnic Russians spoke with very proper British accents, ordinary Russians with common English accents, and Stalin with a rough accent, using simple language, that was hard to place. I also found Tom Hulce's performance to be excessively maudlin. The sense of irony that all the other characters seemed to have was absent in his.