Political satire movies to watch online

A British satire of Russian politics during the Cold War, always making light of serious and tragic issues without much regard for reality. Director and screenwriter Armando Iannucci was also the creator of the series 'Veep', almost making 'The Death of Stalin' like a Russian and period version of the American production. The feature also counts with a strong cast, including names like Steve Buscemi ('Reservoir Dogs'), Olga Kurylenko ('Oblivion') and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy from the 'Harry Potter' franchise). Recommended for fans of political comedies.

One of Charlie Chaplin's greatest (and most famous) films, a critique of Nazism and Fascism released in 1940 - a time when the US had not yet entered into the conflict and the horror of the Holocaust was reaching the rest of the world through conflicting information. Fearless, Chaplin uses humor to criticize the leaders of that regime and also to teach us a lesson: that we are all equal, no matter if we are white, black, Jewish, dictators or barbers. The feature gives us memorable scenes (such as Hynkel playing with the globe, which became the opening of the Brazilian novel "O Dono do Mundo") and a ionate final speech, with a lesson of unity and democracy that still sounds (frighteningly) current.

With the Cuban Missile Crisis still fresh in memory and the paranoia of the Cold War at its peak, Stanley Kubrick dared to pose a hypothetical scenario: what would happen if the worst person possible had control over the worst weapon ever invented by humankind? The result is a masterful marathon of black humor that achieves something that would seem impossible: making us laugh at the scenario of our own nuclear war extinction. 'Dr. Insólito' (better known as 'Dr. Strangelove', its original title) is a satire set during the Cold War, but it is chillingly relevant even today. With performances worthy of a lecture hall (the brilliant Peter Sellers plays three roles in the movie and you'd hardly notice), this is another gem in Kubrick's perfect filmography, which has tackled war more than once from different angles, but never with such originality as in this one.

Director Adam McKay ("The Big Short") is an expert in satire and black humor. With "Vice," the filmmaker portrays one of the most powerful and controversial figures in recent American history, Dick Cheney, with the same acidic sense of humor. Obviously, the star of the show is the chameleon Christian Bale in the lead role, accompanied by the great Amy Adams as his wife, and Sam Rockwell as George Bush. It's no surprise that the movie received eight Oscar nominations and won at the Golden Globe for Bale's performance. It is undoubtedly one of the most interesting films of the 2019 awards season, which makes the audience understand politics with humor.

In his first movie since the Oscar-winning 'Vice', director Adam McKay returns in 'Don't Look Up' without losing his acidic humor. The film, which is worthy of the filmmaker's return, has a star-studded cast - with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet and Meryl Streep - and a story that fits perfectly with the Covid-19 pandemic, experienced from 2020 onwards. In the plot, two astronomers try to warn the population about a comet capable of destroying the Earth, but no one believes them. The production brings timely reflections on the course that humanity has taken and how it affects our lives, especially in relation to the destruction of nature. 'Don't Look Up' is a great social and political satire, hitting the right rhythm and balance between brilliant and depressing.