Alexei German | 2013 | Russia | 177' | EN subs

Planet Arkanar looks like a medieval hell where totalitarian evil reigns. A messenger is sent from Earth to introduce humanitarian ideas without realizing that they do not always work. A magnificent black and white fresco of a doomed world. And the farewell of a Russian film master.

Deceased in 2013 and always anti-conformist Alexei German questions in his last film the ultimate hierarchy: that of God and man. On the planet Arkanar, which has lingered in its development in the Middle Ages, thirty scientists from planet Earth live. Don Rumata and his colleagues observe Arkanar, with the knowledge of all that might come, but are not allowed to intervene. They are helpless Gods, in a world where intellectuals are hunted game.

Throughout his career, German (1938-2013) wanted to film the novel by the Strugatsky brothers, whose work also formed the basis of Tarkovsky's Stalker; the last fifteen years of his life were completely devoted to the project. His wife Svetlana Karmalita and son Alexei Jr. completed the film after his death. Enter this nightmarish medieval world for a cinematic masterpiece, which captures the feverish visions of Hieronymus Bosch linked to Fellini's Satyricon.