Review #14

Stalker - Written by Arkady Strutgatsky and Boris Strutgasky; Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

I suspect that if I hadn't seen a Tarkovsky film before, I wouldn't have been all that impressed by Stalker. When I saw his other science fiction film, Solaris, I had mixed feeling; the film came across as too ponderous and slow. Yet, months later the film reappeared in my dreams and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The film haunted my mind, there is something in Tarkovsky that clings to the subconscious mind. Seeing Stalker, I actually found myself engaged and riveted (despite accounts I've since read on the internet that describe the opposite). Tarkovsky's films take time to reveal their secrets.

A writer and scientist are led into 'The Zone' by a figure called 'The Stalker'. The Zone is sealed off by the authorities, and allegedly has a room that grants one's deepest wishes to come true. The Zone is highly hazardous place that affects anyone who enters it both physically and mentally. This place is a metaphor for the character's psychological torments, as well as an allegorical representation of the intellectuals trek into the unknown. In this context, 'Stalker' doesn't mean that of harassing someone else but of approaching an unknown location.

The film is unsettling in its oneiric aura. The characters roam across dilapidated industrial wastelands and waterways that are part of the aftermath of the meteorite that fell. These landscapes affect the characters in much the same way as Solaris affected me; they are even shown lying asleep for a very long time, part of the landscapes' influence on their subconscious.

This is a very slow film. Long, long shots and many ponderous conversations. It also lasts for three hours... Yet it all lead to a fascinating finale when the three characters enter a sand dune room, yet they never enter the room. Tarkovsky has been compared to Dostoyevsky in his philosophical approach, and watching his work in a certain way can be like reading Dostoyevsky at his densest; there are many inconclusive moments and many moments of frustration.

But, ultimately, I don't think it's Tarkovsky's philosophical arguments that overwhelm me, it's the cinematography. The monochrome colour and long, long takes create this impact that stays with you and lingers at the back of your mind.