Hard to be a God

Alexsey German's Hard to Be a God is a singular film, at once magnificent and mad. It is nominally a sci-fi film in which scientists from Earth are observing the inhabitants of an alien world that resembles the worst aspects of medieval Europe. The scientists are supposed to not interfere with the evolutionary arc of the inhabitants, but, of course, are sorely tempted to.

The world of the planet is a Brueghelian nightmare: Clean water and healthy food are impossible to find, intolerance and brutality are omnipresent, the climate is unpleasant and cretinism abounds. German provides us with a succession of grotesque images that are reminiscent of Fellini at his most unbridled.

The plot is virtually nonexistent and the pacing shambolic. This is because the film's protagonist, Don Remata, is leading an alienated life, out of touch with the ethos and comforts of life on his home planet. Like numerous Conrad characters and Harvey Keitel's character in Jane Campion's The Piano, he has gone native; heading backwards on the human chain of evolutionary progress. He commingles with the locals and they attempt to serve their newfound God, but lack the intelligence to be able to do more than get in his way. Don Remata's day to day existence with his retinue is claustrophobic. He is constantly banging his head on hanging buckets, bones, and meat. He emulates the locals in following his lowest and basest needs: Clearing his orifices, getting stoned, channeling his aggression at idiots, and seeking warmth. If Don and his cohorts have a quest, it is a quixotic one.

The narrative is unsatisfying. Perhaps this is due to German's premature death, perhaps it is because of the film's commitment to monotony. The film's power is an experiential one, however unpleasant. Art direction and costumes are superb. One may not want to grok the grotty texture of Hard to Be a God, but one cannot deny the singular nature of the film's vision. (11/6/16)