Stalker is my favourite type of science fiction: the kind that asks many questions, gives few answers and in which a lot of the magic is based on the imagination and not what is presented on screen.
The film follows a Stalker i.e. a man who works illegally as a kind of sherpa, taking people into the "zone" a site that was hit by a meteor and has since been abandoned. On this visit that we accompany him on, the Stalker has chosen to usher in two men, one a writer, the other a scientist professor. Because what they are doing is highly illegal and dangerous the Stalker insists that they refer to themselves only by their professions. As they enter the zone we learn more about the journey, including why it is considered so dangerous and why so many are willing to take the risk to go there.
The movie is not for the faint of heart. The short summary proffered above takes over an hour to explain in terms of the movie. Furthermore the shots are incredibly long, often lasting several minutes as we follow these men on their journey. But is it ever worth the ride. Shot mostly in long abandoned locations the film is brutally gorgeous. And the questions, when they come, are fascinating and interesting asking the most of what it means to be human and how that manifests itself in our desires.
Sheer beauty.
The film follows a Stalker i.e. a man who works illegally as a kind of sherpa, taking people into the "zone" a site that was hit by a meteor and has since been abandoned. On this visit that we accompany him on, the Stalker has chosen to usher in two men, one a writer, the other a scientist professor. Because what they are doing is highly illegal and dangerous the Stalker insists that they refer to themselves only by their professions. As they enter the zone we learn more about the journey, including why it is considered so dangerous and why so many are willing to take the risk to go there.
The movie is not for the faint of heart. The short summary proffered above takes over an hour to explain in terms of the movie. Furthermore the shots are incredibly long, often lasting several minutes as we follow these men on their journey. But is it ever worth the ride. Shot mostly in long abandoned locations the film is brutally gorgeous. And the questions, when they come, are fascinating and interesting asking the most of what it means to be human and how that manifests itself in our desires.
Sheer beauty.