Stalker 1979

By Andrei Tarkovsky

I own a a copy of this movie. Being that I am feeling under the weather I decided to re-visit this movie since the last time I saw it was in my Tarkovsky class. In fact I saw this movie in first year in my Post Soviet film class and it was the reason I took an all Tarkovsky class.

The characters in this film do not have names they are refered to by occupations. The stalker is a man whos job it is to take people to the zone. The zone is a place untouched by human beings where invisible forces are at hand and one wrong step will cause your life. He takes people to the zone becuase there is a room which grants people wishes, Not the wishes on the surface but the inner most wish the one tied up with the essence of who you are. The two characters he is hired to take into the zone are the Professor ( who is science oriented) and the Writer.

The zone is an incredible place where nature is very powerful. They stumble upon ruins of cars who have tried to get in and a home that was half built. Tarkovsky films nature as penetrable beyond the human imposition. One of his shots in a dank rotting building where in the corner between a crack in the concrete there is a green budding stem. He will slow zoom into the plant taking away all the surrounding colors of grey,mildew and rust to focus on the one green sprig and its magnificence.

He makes feel me that humans are disrespectful, unimaginative hobos who pass through nature with complete ingratitude seeping from every pore. Nature in his films is patient and knowing we are transitory.

In Stalker I believe our want of the zone is only for our own gain. For our wishes. When they are close to The Room it begins to downpour inside the house. A violent downpour for a few minutes and then it stops. Tarkosvky does great shots of natural events happening indoors. In another scene it seems to be snowing very lightly indoors.

When traveling through the zone they sleep on tuffets of moss in a swamp. They are partially submerged in water but appear comfortable and at peace. I never understood peoples ridiculous preoccupation with wet being uncomfortable. Being soaked from the rain is one of the few delights this world has to offer.

















I highly recommend Stalker if you want dialogue that will rock you to your philosophical core. The scientist and writer have some epic debates about our reason for wanting. For an example I have transcribed my favourite monologue said by Stalker.

" Calling themselves intellectuals those writers and scientists!
They don't believe in anything ! They've got the organ with which one uses to believe atrophied from lack of use.
Oh God what people... Haven't you seen them ? They've got empty eyes.
The only thing they can think about is how to sell themselves not too cheap !
How to get as much as possible for their every emotional movement !
They know they were "born for a purpose", "called upon" after all, they live "only once"
Can people like that believe in anything ?
And nobody believes. Not only those two. Nobody!
Who am I going to take there ? Oh God..
Whats more awful is that nobody needs it.
No one needs that room and all my efforts are just in vain."