The three eternal hours of this movie are over. I still do not know what he wants to tell me. More than anything because it does not have a common thread, nor does it go anywhere. Everything is assembled without a reason.

It is an incredible production. A huge stage But I do not know what counts?

We could say that the actors are great, the problem is that apart from seeing completely crazy characters, that if they do it superbly, I do not know what they are performing, so I do not know if it's right or wrong.

He has a very good photograph, if we knew what he wants to tell us. It's very pretty, but I do not know how it helps.

The use of sequence plans tires me, without a reason. The camera goes from one side to another, but I do not know what it is following. I do not know why the actors look at the camera so many times.

It's been a shame, to lose so much time in seeing this

Beautifully shot in black and white, 'Hard to Be a God' presents a spectacular procession of grotesque medieval imagery. For nearly three hours, its characters battle, spit, fart, urinate and grimace, while bird droppings fall from the sky amidst a curtain of foul steam rising from the ground. This visual vocabulary is used insistently, relentlessly, like a mantra, to the point that it nearly becomes hypnotic. The result is, nevertheless, a tasteful, even elegant, and superbly crafted product.

'Hard to Be a God' is inspired by the novel of the same title, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (which I'm not familiar with). Technically speaking, this is a science fiction story, but expect nothing like '2001: Space Odyssey' or 'Star Trek'. If anything, its aesthetics have more in common with Andrei Tarkovsky's 1966 'Andrei Rublev', which is set in 15th century Russia. The plot goes something like this: In the future, a number of earthlings go to planet Arkanar to observe its culture, which is in a similar state to what was once the Earth's Middle Ages. However, they are not allowed to teach the locals any progressive concepts that might help them reach their own Renaissance. At best, they can protect a few, specific Arkanarians who may be instrumental in the advancement of their society. Some of this is explained in an introduction. The rest, one has to more or less guess, based on the sometimes disorienting action and sparse dialog. There is a lot to take in at once, so I believe a second viewing would be helpful.

The surreal parade of people fighting one another and marching through the mud like madmen is so overwhelming, that it is almost comical during some instances. This said, it is grim to see human beings reduced to pointless violence and physiological functions. The visitors from Earth are more scientifically advanced, to the point that they are perceived by the locals as gods; but they despair as they confront the seemingly endless chaos. Thus, the title. Most Arkanarians are primitive and superstitious, while the scientists are false gods, lacking hope or divine inspiration. Not exactly uplifting, but it's a sight to behold...

Director Aleksei German spent many years working on this elaborate production and died before completing it. His wife and son took over that task and finished it in 2013.

Negatives: 1. Could have been five stars, but three hours of basically the same difficult to understand scenes and story was exhausting. A bit of editing (like half) and you would never have known since everything was redundant from dialogue to action to mud. 2. The science is really bad, but in this case it makes no difference because it doesn't play into the story. The science is someone is sent from Earth to bring order to another planet that basically is identical to middle ages Europe from pigeons to horses to buildings to inhabitants. If the state/condition of this other planet is suppose to have some metaphorical meaning - I missed it. 3. As far as the God angle - having control over others lives - I had a hard time finding that message in this film. Maybe it was attention span, or translations, or scene overload? Positives: 1. The camera work was unique in that practically every scene is claustrophobically close in. 2. The sets and props (buildings, clothing, swords, etc.) were amongst the best I've ever seen in a period film. Very nastily real. The conditions were beyond the worst imaginable even for the extreme poverty and slum enclaves of Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Brazil. 3. Not a black & white film, but gray and gray. Everything is gray from mud to people to buildings and it all works to convey information and mood. 4. The conveyance of delusion, psychosis, schizophrenia from bizarre behaviors to nonsensical language permeate every scene along with … 5. Disgusting beyond belief fecal, snot, saliva spitting/sharing, mud sharing, body gouging scenes even imaginable ("Centipede" and "Game of Thrones" are tame, comparatively). 6. Many of the cast were selected and made up to convey a freak show setting; not sure if one could legally film such characterization in the U.S. today, but intended, I think, to show the decay of civilization. 7. Worth seeing because it is definitely unique.