Last night I watched Aleksei German’s HARD TO BE A GOD, a Russian film reminiscent of Tarkovsky, based on the sci-fi concept of Earth observers embedded on an Earth-like planet in its own middle ages during a time when the populace has decided to massacre anyone with talent, learning, artistic ability or intelligence. It is a truly horrific depiction of man as just another animal, brilliantly shot in black and white. At almost three hours and with a very vague, wandering plot, it is realized in such a way that you feel you are there, witnessing this lasting foulness of a society which is likely close to depicting what it was like in such times in our own past. Memorable, powerful and utterly disgusting, it is thoroughly damning of the worst behavior of our species. This film is mesmerizing and worth your time—it will, I think, linger in your memory as do powerful works of art.
The night before I watched the final four episodes of the 2014 series COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY which celebrates invention, intelligence, genius and what could be a more promising future if our species can stop being short-sighted in our lack of concern for the fragility of our planet’s environment. It is a successful revival of Carl Sagan’s original 1980 series meant to excite interest in science and the wonder of understanding the universe in which we live. With the eloquent Neil deGrasse Tyson as host, an astrophysicist who was inspired by Sagan, the episodes feature striking visuals and stirring music by Alan Silvestri. There is plenty of food for thought along the way, though for my taste there is a bit of soft-peddling of the offenses made by theists who strove to stifle science as it came to supplant their limited beliefs. (View Amenábar’s AGORA as a supplement). It is worth your time and can work as a beginning point for learning more about physics, astronomy and the glories of our Universe.
Thus I had a very powerful two nights of antipodal bookending views on the nature of humanity. You also might find both of these experiences to be challenging and enlightening.
—Magus Peter H. Gilmore