Films/DVD Asylum

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'Hard to be a God' = Hard to be a viewer . . .

Posted by Billy Wonka on September 15, 2015 at 23:04:30:
Now I know what Vic's grade school days were like: grim.
Okay, we have a near three hour mucous, spittle, and feces festival shot in glorious B&W. This thing wouldn't work in color.
One thing I can't understand is why so many Russian or Eastern European film makers churn out these seemingly awful and disgusting films. This one is like watching three hours of 9-11 all over again. The darkness of the time, the setting, the almost non-existent plot, the cast of characters right out of Heironymous Bosch. The wandering camera capturing such widespread filth and mayhem for no apparent reason.
Why such a film? Because it was a challenge. It was a tedious, masterful stroke of film making that offends yet compells--and that was probably the reason for its making.
First, the casting and costumes. Imagine a lingering Dark Ages set 800 years behind us. The odd looking people, the prosthetics, the odd things worn. Everyone was covered with filth, feces, boils, running noses, and/or blood. Pulling a diverse cast together with the costumer was a miracle.
Second, the setting was a rainy, foggy, muddy, dank, Dark Age world where sanitation was still born. Feces encrusted everything--almost. There was disarray everywhere. A modern man would be terrified to touch anything, drink the water, or even lie on a bed.
Third, was this a metaphor for anything? I was so grossed out that I didn't care to think about it. The local lord, "god", was followed by the Earth camera crew (we never saw them) to capture what a brute he was. He had a fondness for grabbing ears, pushing people down, and telling them to "get out" or "leave". His idiot army of morons were the "Grays" and they would fail against the "Blacks" who would come in and vanquish almost everyone near the end.
The most important thing to me was the stage direction. There was always movement in front of main characters and simultaneously behind them as well. It was like real life with a very ugly twist. There was always something to grab your attention and the diverse cast would peer into the camera or run in front of it during every scene. It is a world with no order or privacy. The English are supposed to be the best at stage direction (Greenway's kitchen in 'The Thief The Cook comes to mind) but this took so much planning to balance the whole work I wonder how much storyboarding was possible for every little nuance moving about.
I don't recommend this for anyone. It is three hours and if you turn if off after fifteen minutes no one had been fulfilled-not you or the film maker. This is not something you will ever watch again. It is like a perverse 'Russian Ark': a roving camera, characters flowing in and out of focus, and a gigantic cast. Nay, this is not a single take film but it sure feels like it.
I gave it five stars because NF viewers have it a one star. Unfortunately subject matter overrules creativity and craft. This has both in spades. You really have to start dissecting what you are seeing to appreciate what it took to make.