Stalinism is exposed as absurdity in Stalin’s Bride, set in the 1930s Soviet Union, where poverty and dejection have weakened the nation ruled by Stalin’s totalitarian regime. Hungarian filmmaker Péter Bascó (The Witness) tells the story of Paranya (played by Julí Básti), a Kaspar Hauser-like village idiot who emerges from a horse stable without the ability to express her thoughts. Though the townspeople initially treat her like an animal, they show concern after Paranya is imprisoned and tortured for naively claiming she is Stalin’s fiancé.