Double Review: Hard to be a God and The Burning

Hard to be a God and The Burning

On Friday 29th July, I attended my first national press screening, for Arrow Films' release of the Russian sci-fi epic Hard to be a God. Present were some of my greatest idols, including The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. It was a magical experience to gain first-hand insight into my (hopefully) future career. Arrow also recently sent me The Burning (El Ardor in its native Argentine-Spanish), a western-inflicted thriller with supernatural undertones. Although I'm eternally grateful to Arrow for everything they provide me to review, my reactions to both films were far less than spectular...

Hard to be a God: Twelve years in the making, Aleksei German's critically acclaimed three-hour odyssey was completed by his son, Aleksei German Jr. after his untimely death. According to the synopsis, it tells the story of a group of scientists who visit the distant planet of Arkanar, and discover a society still trapped in its own medieval era.  Unable to interfere with the course of its history, they can only watch in mounting horror as all sparks of intelligent and independent thought are mercilessly snuffed out by Arkanar’s cruel rulers. In fact, barely a hint of that admittedly intriguing premise is present in this laborious waste of time. If it weren't for a heavy-handed opening voice-over, the audience would be none the wiser that Don Rumata (Arkanar's tyrannical leader) and company were from a different time, or even that this was taking place beyond earth. Rumata and his fellow astronauts are perhaps more barbaric than their native underlings, which clearly coincides with the apparent message of the movie (!).

Instead of exploring the deep moral quandaries of ruling a ghastly, putrid society, German is content to infect the screen with three hours of wandering through mounds of s**t in the service of nothing. The first half is suitably vile; never before has a film captured the sheer atmosphere of a setting so perfectly. Eventually, though, hours upon hours of misery, disgust and discomfort become monotonous. There are only so many times you can show people squatting in the mud looking for answers before the audience equally demand an explanation. Alas, a point is never made. It really is just a seemingly endless parade of depravity, all told in evocative Steadicam shots. There is no character development (or much in the way of character, in fact); no important message to be recounted; nothing worthy of interest at all in this painfully tedious film. If German's sole aim was to simulate the boredom and pointlessness of the Middle Ages, this is a masterpiece. If he was attempting to make any compelling point, it's a complete disaster. Hard to be a God is a technically astounding achievement, yet also a hollow one. 

Five-Word Verdict: Adolescent, brutish and genuinely horrible.

Score: 2/5

Hard to be a God is out in cinemas on 7th August and on Blu-ray and DVD on 7th September

The Burning: Marred by arrhythmic editing, hammy acting and paper-thin characters, this god-awful thriller features shades of Sergio Leone, but better homages the sensation of  Chinese water torture. Considered for Argentina's Best Foreign-Language Oscar entry, it provides clear evidence that the Argentine's were having a slow year for homespun releases. Gael Garcia Bernal stars as a perpetually topless water spirit (or something. I honestly can't remember) who emerges from the rainforest to rescue the kidnapped daughter (Alice Braga, a fine actress given precisely nothing to do) of a poor farmer after mercenaries murder her father and take over his property. They are also assisted by a lone jaguar, who apparently has a sixth sense: for who it would be convenient to kill at any given moment. What could have been an amiably cheesy exploitation movie in the vein of Delta Force instead ends up as a self-serious environmental polemic on how all deforesters are actually murderous anti-Christs who rape, pillage and kill for sport. For what is ostensibly a thriller, this is a potently uninteresting work; half of the movie is Bernal staring blankly into the distance (presumably searching for the character he's supposed to play!). Julian Apeztugia's magnificent cinematography and a mildly diverting final shoot-out prevent it from being outright unwatchable, yet writer/director Pablo Fendrik fails to quicken the pulse in a thunderously boring effort that, honestly, left me cold (ha). 

Five-Word Verdict: Huh? How? Why? Who? WHAT?!

Score: 1½/5

The Burning is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 10th August