Hard to Be a God (1989 film)

Hard to Be a God
Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein
Directed by	Peter Fleischmann
Written by	Jean-Claude Carrière Dal Orlov Peter Fleischmann
Starring	Alexander Philippenko Edward Żentara Hugues Quester Christine Kaufmann Andrei Boltnev Gayle Hunnicutt Werner Herzog
Cinematography	Jerzy Goscik Pavel Lebeshev Klaus Müller-Laue
Edited by	Marie-Josée Audiard Christian Virmond
Music by	Hans-Jürgen Fritz
Production companies	Hallelujah-Film GmbH Dovzhenko Film Studios V/O Sovinfilm Garance Films Mediactuel S.A. B.A. Filmproduktion GmbH ZDF
Distributed by	Jugendfilm-Verleih GmbH
Release dates	12 September 1989 (Venice Film Festival) 25 January 1990 (West Germany) May 1990 (Soviet Union) 7 August 1991 (France)
Running time	119 min.
Countries	West Germany Soviet Union France Switzerland
Language	German

Hard to Be a God (German: Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein, Russian: Трудно быть богом, French: Un dieu rebelle) is a West German-Soviet-French-Swiss science fiction film directed by Peter Fleischmann released in 1989, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.

Grant Stevens performed the title song, and the rest of the musical score was written and played by Hans-Jürgen Fritz, ex-keyboardist for the German progressive rock band Triumvirat.

Plot

In their third millennium, the people of Earth have found a peaceful life. This is possible because the people learned to control their emotions and, above all, rely on reason.

On a distant planet, however, they find a medieval civilization of humans that they now use to test whether people really no longer have any barbaric instincts; they are poor, primitive, and ignorant people.

For this purpose, the scout Anton and other explorers are released to live among these primitive people. A modern video camera is implanted in his eye, which transmits everything he sees to a spaceship orbiting the planet. The mission is directed in a cave located in the middle of the desert.

Living in the city of Arkanar under the identity of the nobleman Don Rumata, he buys a house containing facilities to serve to another scout on the mission. Anton seems like a fancy rich man moving on the streets in the city, but finds it increasingly difficult to endure the misery of the populace oppressed by the king and the ruthless advisor Don Reba. He tries to speed up their progress and initiate enlightenment to move the world forward, although he is strictly forbidden from interfering with the world he encounters.

Rumata tries to convince his colleagues that active intervention must take place to help these people move forward and arise as modern humans. However, Don Condor, an elder and more experienced observer, feels that he has become too involved in native affairs and can't see the historical perspective objectively. They remind him of the dangers of meddling with the history of the planet. Not convinced but left with no other choice, Rumata agrees to continue his work with these primitive people.

Rumata tries questioning multiple people for information to fullfil their mission and leave the planet as soon as possible. He encounters a love interest, a young girl commoner who can't stand the brutality and horrors of the fascist government of Arkanar and asks to stay in Rumata's house. Rumata gladly agrees and promises to eventually take her with him to a place far away.

Don Reba reveals that he has been watching Don Rumata for some time and recognizes Rumata as an impostor, knowing he had died a long time ago. However, Don Reba realizes that there is some supernatural power behind Rumata, and he is smart. Rumata's gold is of impossibly high quality, and his sword-fighting style is unheard of; yet, he has never killed a single person while staying in Arkanar despite fighting in numerous duels in the city.

Rumata uses his new status and influence in the city to rescue the real Dr. Budah, as well as his own new friend Baron Pampa from prison. Arkanar succumbs to the Holy Order to keep the people under control, who prefers to keep people ignorant and obedient to rule the world as they pleasure.

As the last of his friends and allies die and suffer in the turmoil of the civil war, Rumata acts with all haste to expedite the departure of Budah. Rumata asks him a theological question: what would you ask a god if he could come from the sky and fulfill any of your wishes? After a long discussion with Budah and Rumata, explaining the dire consequences of each of the wishes, Budah finally states that the only true gift a god could give the people is to leave them to their affairs. Rumata replies that he can't bear the sight of their suffering, then he knows that Rumata referred to himself in that last sentence rather than some hypothetical god, and looks at him with horror and hope.

Rumata supports the people, captures a helicopter disguised as a flying dragon to keep people far from them, plans a revolution against the king, and is almost worshiped as a god for his abilities. He has a weapon that launches the energy beam; however, he falls in love for a native woman and has new friends who must fight to defend and keep safe. In the bloody clashes of a civil war that follows in the city, the king and Don Reba die.

While Arkanar sinks into anarchy and terror, Don Rumata tries to help the people and his new friends. However, he is picked up from a spaceship at night because the test is over. It was Don Rumata whose reactions were tested by their civilization for the chief of the experiment of humans, Mr. Mita, considering that the violence could be contagious like a virus and provoke damage to their advanced civilization, making it return to its primitive past when exposed to primitive people.

The space station went on alert when the civil war began; however, they did not have a chance to react to the landing operation and try to stop it. They arrive at night during the civil war and doused the entire city with a sleep-inducing gas. They discover that Don Rumata has already fought his way through the city. He had killed many people and took pleasure in it. He was paralyzed by a light beam and rescued to end the experiment of Mr. Mita.

Cast

• Edward Zentara as Rumata/Anton
• Alexander Philippenko as Reba
• Hugues Quester as Suren
• Christine Kaufmann as Okana
• Andrei Boltnev as Budach
• Werner Herzog as Mita
• Regimantas Adomaitis as Don Condor (Alexander Weiland)
• Elguja Burduli as Pampa
• Gayle Hunnicutt as Doreen
• Pierre Clémenti as King
• Mikhail Gluzsky as Gauk

See also

• Hard to Be a God, novel

External links

• Hard to Be a God at AllMovie
• Hard to Be a God at IMDb