Stalker

Tarkovsky did what modern directors can't (with very rare exceptions): he took a fantastic action story (not the best one, by the way, since "Roadside Picnic" is still an early work by the Strugatsky brothers).

“Roadside Picnic” was written from February 1970 to November 1971. And you think this is the Strugatsky brothers’ early period? “Roadside Picnic” is a fantastic action story??? No comment.

and filled it with the content of eternal questions: who should science and creativity serve? where is humanity striving? do we need people like the Stalker? what does each person want? why are we afraid of our true desires? why do we deceive ourselves?...

To be precise, he OVERLOADED it. Tarkovsky’s philosophy is cloying and completely artificial, unlike the subtle approach of the Strugatsky brothers.

“Stalker” is not a film for everyone. to better understand it, you need to watch at least Tarkovsky’s “Solaris” based on Stanislaw Lem.

I watched “Stalker” and “Solaris” (even rewatched them), and I read the Strugatsky brothers and Lem. And I can definitely say that I don’t like Tarkovsky’s adaptations. Maybe he is a genius, but first of all, he is a schizophrenic, and I don’t like his view of the works and of life in general (which can be judged by his films, because he undoubtedly put a lot of himself into them). Although, for general knowledge, it is worth watching, as it is a part of film history.