S R
My brother recommended it for its uniqueness and unique it was. It was so medieval and painfully frustrating, but it still had some crazy staged choreographed scenes. Did I enjoy it? Not especially, but it deserves respect for its ambitious sci-fi plot. It took guts to make and to take a box office bomb. RUS.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
04/13/24
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Frisian W
Absolutely amazing. I really like the unique hypnotic and otherworldly vibe. I watch the trailer often to relive this feeling. A very creepy planet that I'm happy not to live on.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
12/17/23
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Honest D
One of the most intense experiences of my life.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/23/23
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tink l
3 hours of my life I will never get back.
Sure, the camera work is great, black & white sets an interesting mood, the changes from normal acting to 4th wall breaks have their merits.
Yes, the middle ages were dark and nasty.
Had it been 5-10 minutes it might have made for a great short.
But flogging the gross, decaying, dead horse covered in sh*it and vomit for 3 hours was just unbearable. I watched this at a movie theatre (during a film festival, so people would be a bit more open to unusual experiences, you'd think). But after an hour more than half the audience had left. The people I went with found refuge in sleep...
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
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Rich S
Like most Russian literature and the movies that result from those novels, Hard to Be a God has its own beauty. It's not the beauty of a sunset, but rather the beauty of dark clouds rolling in to wash away the filth of the movie's stagnant culture.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
05/19/21
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alex h
"Hard to be a God" may be one of the most ambiguous films in cinema's history: its references are endless and can only be juxtaposed with such of the book "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce. The director of the film – Alexei German, had a lot in common with Joyce and his writing of the novel "Finnegans Wake": both works of art were made for more than 14 years and were never fully understood by the audiences, as well as the authors were criticized after the release of their final project, whilst previously being praised by the society.
However, the problem with "Finnegans Wake" is that it is nearly impossible to read, as it is written in more than 60 languages, whilst the work of German can be watched, as it does not require any research rather than the initial book by Strugatsky brothers and the basic understanding of German's cinematic language, as well as the viewer shall understand that this film is an interpretation of the book: not its copy. Many people have criticized the film due to its discrepancy with the initial source, as well as its disturbing content such as excrements, urination, constant showing of gore, nudity, and a close-up shot of an erect penis of a donkey, which many people can not get out of their head after the viewing.
First of all, to understand German's picture, the viewer ought to have good nerves, as some moments of the film may make one feel disturbed and impaired mentally. A vital piece of advice would be to watch German's other films before that, such as "My Friend Ivan Lapshin" and "Khrustalyov, My Car!", as these films make the viewer prepare for what he will receive in German's film. The film shall be observed in one take, as otherwise the viewer risks not understanding anything, as the film is incredibly long as it runs for 3 hours. The main idea that people shall imply whilst being ready to watch the film is to watch it as a work of art: to try finding what is hidden behind the long, depressive shots and dialogues, which sometimes do not make sense unless the book has been read. The film has a very dark and greedy depressing tone, which will make the viewer feel negatively even if the film is not particularly relatable to the viewer in any way.
The film's opening scene is the scene that gives the viewer a clear understanding of what will be going on in the next 3 hours of the film. Barely anything can be understood in the first 40 seconds of it, as it starts with an apocalyptic exposition, which may be interpreted in many ways: medieval times on Earth, archaeological excavations, or maybe even a film set: a ton of emotions, thoughts, and ideas start crawling in the viewer's head. The black and white set of colors makes the entire picture look even more dark and melancholic than it already is: it leaves the viewer empty up until the very moment of Leonid Yarmolnik's voice, which starts explaining what is going on to the viewer directly, whilst breaking the 4th wall: the camera work and sound are the main reasons to why this scene looks magnificent.
Interesting camera work is, in fact, something that makes the movie pleasing to watch, as German's scenes could always be distinguished from thousand other directors just by that distinctive feature. The camera is usually still on exposition and constantly moves with the characters: like if German himself leads Leonid Yarmolnik by hand. Exposition scenes are usually prolonged to give the viewer a rest and some understanding of moving to a different location of the film, as there is so much going on in terms of dialogues and the weirdness of German's interpretation that a regular viewer could not understand by transferring quickly. However, this film is not made for regular viewers due to its philosophy and the entire meaning.
The plot of the film is incredibly like the source by Strugatsky Brothers. However, German also added something to it which makes "Hard to be a God" not only the interpretation of the book but also a philosophical masterpiece about religion, government, the
society, and its degradation and the way people can ruin their lives if they are put in the community where bestiality rules. All of the mature content put in the film was put in there not to disturb people and not because Alexei German himself was crazy – it was to separate the intelligence from the rednecks. The film creators did not care whether the people would walk out of the theaters: they only cared about the fact that the general mission of the film is fulfilled: if something like excrements can disturb a person from watching a work of art, then that person does not deserve to appreciate this art.
The entire film runs on the idea that if a smart and intelligent person enters the community of idiots – he will soon get used to them, despite being a God amongst such peasants. The film shows how Don Rumata transforms throughout the entire film into the same crazy schizoid as everybody around him – he stops being human. The only thing that reminds him of being a human before is music, which he plays on his instrument. Even in the final scene, where Don Rumata is about to be taken away from planet Arkanar back home, the mentality of Don Rumata can be seen to be changed – he does not want to leave the swamp that has become his home. That is believed to be shown as German's reflection on modern Russian society: we have intelligent people, a lot of them. The fact is that such intelligent people usually get dismantled by society, government, and other obstacles that stop them from becoming the geniuses they were born to be.
Thus, the movie's entire concept would not have worked if all the people sat through it – not many people realize what the film is talking about. The fact that the film talks about the society of rednecks, whilst those rednecks are stopping to watch the film is what German tried to show: this theme of man vs. society will always be present, as dumb people are not mammoths: they will never be extinct, as well as they will never accept the fact that they are dumb.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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