Stalker

Seventies Soviet era science fiction.  It sounds amazing.  What sci-fi movies did the Russians make during the Cold War when the Americans are pumping out Star Wars?  I mean it is either going to be incredible or terrible.  I’m sure there are some real stinkers but this is not one of them.

I came across Stalker when Cursed Movies did an episode surrounding it.  By the way, Cursed Movies is an excellent documentary series that is very interesting and well worth checking out.  But Stalker… the episode covers how the production was riddled with difficulties.  The film did not develop correctly, the locations had to change and years later every one but one crew member died early.  According to the documentary the new locations were ripping in industrial waste.  Look check out the episode, it's great, and it exposes you to new movies you may never have seen or even heard of.

So Stalker is directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.  He was being compared to Denis Villeneuve, so you know I had to check out his stuff.  I started with Stalker and The Mirror and was not disappointed.  His movies are more thought pieces.  It asks you questions and does not provide the answers, just like all good science fiction (although The Mirror isn’t really sci-fi, or is it?).  

So the movie revolves around two characters, the Writer and the Professor, who are looking to go into the Zone.  To get to the Zone they hire a Stalker, a professional guide for the Zone.  See the Zone is a prohibited area.  Something happened there that has caused the area to be abandoned, maybe it was aliens, or a nuclear disaster (like Chernobyl, which happened a few years later).  But rumour has there is a room in a house within the Zone that can grant you your heart's desires.  One wish.  And here is one of the questions Stalker asks, what would your one wish be?  The Professor wants to win a Nobel Prize, but the Room grants you what is your core desire and not what you want or even think you want.  

The movie follows the dilemma of the characters.  Should they go in and get what they truly desire even if it's not what they want or should they continue on without that.  What if it backfires?  The Stalker has never been in because he knows this has happened.  This inner look on human nature is excellent to see in a movie.  I love it when a movie goes beyond itself.  Makes you feel and think.  

Now, Stalker is a long movie with not a lot happening.  After the party sneaks by the guards entering the zone the rest of the film is slow.  Really slow.  I like movies that are slow for a purpose.  I think because it is subtitled it grabs your focus more because you can’t glance away when there is character dialogue because you can't understand what they say.  It builds an atmosphere with long shots and prolonged science, only hearing the elements of the surroundings.  More “Art House” movies do this and when you get bombarded with Disney/Marvel/Star Wars mediocrity the change of scenery is welcome.