Stalker (1979)

Film: Stalker

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Country: Russia

Released: May 1979

Runtime: 161 minutes

Genre: Slow Cinema

Studio: Mosfilm

Influenced: Christopher Nolan, Béla Tarr, Claire Denis, Gaspar Noé, Alex Garland

Adapted from the sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Tarkovsky's Stalker is a unique blend of slow cinema and philosophical and psychological exploration. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world known as the Zone, a mysterious and dangerous area that appeared after an extraterrestrial event called the Visitation, Stalker explores various existential questions, such as the nature of human desire and the search for meaning in a bleak world. Tarkovsky was also interested in exploring the boundaries of the human psyche and how it interacts with the environment, while the film was also oddly prescient about Chernobyl and exclusion zones. Tarkovsky would explore the theme of nuclear radiation and its devastation on the environment and communities further in The Sacrifice (1986).

Stalker is both haunting and haunted by Russia's past. Writer Geoff Dyer argues that "while the film may not be about the gulag, it is haunted by memories of the camps, from the overlap of vocabulary ('Zona', 'the meat grinder') to the Stalker's Zek-style shaved head". The film follows the journey of three main characters: the Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky), a guide who leads people into the Zone; the Writer (Anatoly Solonitsyn), who seeks inspiration for his work; and the Professor (Nikolai Grinko), a physicist interested in the Zone's secrets. The Stalker agrees to lead the Writer and the Professor into the Zone, a place rumoured to grant the innermost desires of those who enter. The Writer and Professor are not just one-dimensional archetypes for art and science, they're much more psychologically interesting, and The Zone almost becomes a character in its own right. Stalker is a film that resists definitive interpretation. 

As they navigate the Zone, the trio encounters physical and metaphysical obstacles, including treacherous terrain, dangerous traps and their own inner demons. Along the way, they engage in profound discussions about faith, science and the nature of happiness. The Stalker's wife and daughter serve as additional layers of emotional depth as the Stalker grapples with guilt and the potential consequences of his actions. The ultimate goal of the characters is to reach the Room within the Zone, where their deepest desires are said to be fulfilled. However, the film intentionally leaves the nature of the Room ambiguous, raising questions about the nature of desire and the human condition. Tarkovsky employed long, uninterrupted shots to create a sense of contemplation and immersion; there are fewer shots (142) than there are minutes in Stalker – this compares to an average of 1,000+ in most films – giving a sense of slowness and stillness.

Tarkovsky and cinematographer Alexander Knyazhinsky used desolate landscapes, dreamlike imagery and muted colours to evoke a sense of otherworldliness, while Tarkovsky also incorporated symbolic elements into the narrative, often using objects and visual motifs to convey deeper meanings. A special nod should also go to Eduard Artemyev, who provides the haunting and edgy electronic soundtrack. In the film's powerful conclusion, the Stalker's daughter reveals she possesses telekinetic powers, suggesting the possibility of a new form of human evolution. This moment raises questions about the potential for change and hope in a dystopian world. Stalker did not win major awards at international film festivals or receive widespread critical acclaim upon its release, but it quickly built a cult following and is now widely considered to be a film that altered the language of cinema, and specifically sci-fi cinema, forever.