Stalker
Stalker
Directed by:
Andrei Arsenyevich TarkovskyComposer:
Eduard ArtemyevCast:
Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko, Alisa Freyndlikh, Natasha Abramova, Faime Jurno, Ye. Kostin, R. Rendi, Sergey Yakovlev (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
The film follows three men - the Scientist (Nikolai Grinko), the Writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn), and the Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky) - as they travel through a mysterious and forbidden territory in the Russian wilderness called the "Zone." In the Zone, nothing is what it seems. Objects change places, the landscape shifts and rearranges itself. It seems as if an unknown intelligence is actively thwarting any attempt to penetrate its borders. In the Zone, there is said to be a bunker, and in the bunker: a magical room which has the power to make wishes come true. The Stalker is the hired guide for the journey who has, through repeated visits to the Zone, become accustomed to its complex traps, pitfalls, and subtle distortions. Only by following his lead (which often involves taking the longest, most frustrating route) can the Writer and the Scientist make it alive to the bunker and the room. As the men travel farther into the Zone, they realize it may take something more than just determination to succeed: it may actually take faith. Increasingly unsure of their deepest desires, they confront the room wondering if they can, in the end, take responsibility for the fulfillment of their own wishes. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (3)
Reviews (9)
"Hardness and strength are companions of death, weakness and flexibility are an expression of the freshness of being." The notion of human humility against the belief in one's infallibility, power, and exclusivity - which proves to be fragile and uncertain when it comes to revealing what is truly inside, what this belief is truly based on. A film containing countless stimuli for reflection, from which everyone can take away something different in the end, but will certainly not be the same as when they came to the film at the beginning - just like Stalker, The Writer, and The Professor after visiting the "Zone."
()
This is exactly one of those movies that I will have to see again in order to appreciate it. Tarkovsky uses an interesting form which immediately impresses you - I mean the color scheme, which has two different forms. But it is a demanding work that requires your attention, it requires you to think. However, it is definitely worth watching.
()
Yesterday, I embarked on a journey to space with Andrei Tarkovsky. Today we didn’t leave Earth, but it was still an almost three-hour ride. Well, a ride... Again, there was a great deal of philosophizing, and long, long shots in which nothing at all happened, and on which Agnieszka Holland probably based her film I, Olga Hepnarova. There was a lot of wandering through the countryside, throwing nuts and, gradually, the feeling of being robbed of three hours of my life was coming over me again. As far as Mr. Tarkovsky is concerned, I’m not going to make the same mistake for the third time. I guess I’m just not mentally mature enough for his films.
()
This is a paradox. Stalker is now a cinematic concept that everyone watches in a dogged attempt to understand its message and to fit each abstract shot into an imaginary mental puzzle. However, the more we know and think about the film, the more confused we get and end up knowing nothing; and to be honest, it’s better that way. You should keep your brain active, because you won't see so much cinematic beauty, visual art and extremely dense atmosphere anywhere else, but it's really better to let yourself be absorbed and sucked into the Zone than to try to shape and twist it to your will. For me personally, one of the weirdest, most interesting and most moving cinematic experiences ever. And yes, I want to watch it again, several times...
()
Ads