Posts from Stalker

I recently watched this movie. Well, what can I say, I liked the atmosphere and the philosophical themes, although it was a bit drawn out in places. Let's discuss this movie here.

It's a decent movie, but many might find it boring. It's based on the Strugatsky brothers' work, "Roadside Picnic."
The story about how the fourth bunker exploded (six years before the Chernobyl disaster!), about the Room that grants wishes, and about the stalker who takes people to this room for money is quite interesting, but still a bit tedious. Personally, I liked the movie; it has a deep meaning and is much better than modern AAA and YYY class projects. :)
P.S. Recently (April 4th), Tarkovsky (the director of "Stalker") would have turned 75.

It's a decent film, but some might find it boring. It's based on the Strugatsky brothers' work, "Roadside Picnic."
The story about the fourth bunker exploding (six years before the Chernobyl disaster!), about the Room that grants wishes, and about the Stalker who guides people to this Room for money is quite interesting, but still a bit tedious. Personally, I liked the film; it has a deep meaning and is much better than modern AAA and AA projects. :)
P.S. Recently (April 4th), Tarkovsky (the director of "Stalker") would have turned 75.

This is not a story about a reactor explosion and a man who makes money from it. The film is incredibly beautiful! Is the film boring? Most philosophical works are a bit tedious! This film shouldn't just be watched; you need to listen to the dialogues and monologues of the characters, especially near the Room. Everything is said there. Like any film by Tarkovsky (one of the few Russian directors whose work is studied in all film academies around the world), it is imbued with his aesthetics and morality, which people are losing or replacing with false values. "Stalker" and "Roadside Picnic" are two completely different works (by the way, I also have the script for the first lost film, which is also unique in its own way). The Strugatsky brothers wrote the screenplay, but they didn't like Tarkovsky's "Stalker" very much; they thought the director had turned their hero into a fool (they are partly right). Tarkovsky did what modern directors can't do (with very rare exceptions): he took a fantastic action film (not the best one, by the way, because "Roadside Picnic" is still an early work by the Strugatsky brothers) and filled it with the content of eternal questions: what should science and Creation serve? Where is humanity striving? Do we need people like the Stalker? What does each person desire? Why are we afraid of our true desires? Why do we deceive ourselves?...
"Stalker" is not a film for everyone. To understand it better, you need to watch at least "Solaris" by Tarkovsky, based on Stanislav Lem's work (I've watched all of Tarkovsky's films; I can watch "Solaris" over and over again).
After filming the movie, Solonitsyn (the actor playing the writer), Tarkovsky, and his wife fell ill with lung cancer. In the film, there is a scene where Solonitsyn stands waist-deep in some kind of liquid. No one thought that it was waste from a cellulose plant. The scene was filmed for a long time, and both the actor and the director were in the contaminated water. The film turned out to be fatal for both of them. Director Tarkovsky was incredibly talented, but actor Solonitsyn was no less talented.
There are many symbolic elements in the film. For example, in one of the landscape scenes, a leaf from a tear-off calendar floats in the stream; it's dated December 22nd (this is the day Tarkovsky died).
Watch good movies! Watch movies for the mind! Watch beautiful movies! Watch the films of Andrei Tarkovsky!

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.

To be precise, it's an OVERDOSE. Tarkovsky's philosophy is cloying and completely artificial, unlike the subtle approach of the Strugatsky brothers.

Not entirely correct, but the general idea is right.

I've watched Stalker and Solaris (even rewatched them), and I've read Strugatsky and Lem. And I can definitely say that I don't like Tarkovsky's adaptations. He may be a genius, but first and foremost, he's 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's worth watching, as it's a part of film history.

Well, that's harsh. The fact that he put a lot of himself into the film is not necessarily a bad thing, but his view of life also doesn't appeal to me. It's worth watching to get into a philosophical mood or for general development.

Watch good movies! Watch movies for the mind! Watch beautiful movies! Watch the films of Andrei Tarkovsky!

I agree with this!