6/27/15
3/4
Stalker is a human nature meditation in the form of an adventure film in the style of an art film. It is hard to generalize because it seems to show so many different colors. The structure is basic: a mysterious "Zone" appears, seemingly placed by extraterrestrial beings, and three men, the Scientist, the Artist, and the Man of Faith, journey to discover what lies at the heart of the mystery. It's like 2001. The larger part of the film is a pretty accessible adventure story through the Russian wilderness. But there are two catches. One: the three characters are very interesting, and have pretty difficult socio-cultural-philosophical conversations along the way. Two: the direction is completely inscrutable. Tarkovsky takes a decently-interesting script and story and bathes it in impossibly difficult imagery, some of which you cannot even visually decipher, let alone interpret. This is what blew me away about this film and what makes it worth watching again. Tarkovsky directs with huge ideas; he has a strong vision for what he wants.
The best part about this film though, besides the awesomely tough imagery, is its immersiveness. An atmosphere is created once the characters enter The Zone that is deeply engrossing. That's why I enjoyed this film more than Shame: I was enamored with the atmosphere the whole time, more than I am with that typical foreign-realism feel. It kept me interested. However, I will say that I very much wanted it to end differently. There were many points in the last section that I thought were perfect endings, yet the film continued and stopped at a baffling point, one that I was not able to relate to the rest of the film.
I'll watch Stalker again for sure and try to connect it all; the philosophical dialogue with the sci-fi premise, the thematic material with the must-be-symbolic images. The great thing about this conviction is that this is an advanced film that I truly liked. I'm so ready for Solaris, The Mirror, and maybe others.
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