I finally watched my first Tarkovsky with Stalker (1979; Сталкер). It was on a Friday night when I’m tired from the week and more in the mood for trashier fare rather than a two-and-a-half-hour slow meditation life, but I pushed through. And it was great, as many people have said to me. With a sci-fi plot but with no special effects, and an interest in human behaviour, society and landscape, the film follows a titular “Stalker” (Aleksandr Kaidanovsky) who has an illegal job leading people into “The Zone”, a sentient place blasted by a meteorite, quarantined by the government and housing a rumoured room that manifests your deepest wish. The Stalker leads a writer (Anatoli Solonitsyn) and a professor (Nikolai Grinko) into the mysterious, captivating area. An absorbing, moody journey with philosophical discussions throughout (belief and desire, work and society, etc), ending in a surprising two-punch of moments that were quite moving upon reflection. I look forward to the next Tarkovsky. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 