The great classics of Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) are available on the Mosfilm YouTube Channel in high-quality HD format. For me, Tarkovsky is the great genius of middle 20th-century cinema, perfecting his unique grammar of visual motion he called "sculpting in time." My first encounter with Tarkovsky was his science fiction epic Solaris, at a UT college cinema in the early '70s. Solaris is still his best known work in the West, but what I'd like to talk about here was his last Soviet film, before his exile: Stalker (1976). If Solaris was a tough nut to crack for American audiences, Stalker makes it seem tame by comparison. I was puzzled and a bit underwhelmed the first time I saw it, but like all Tarkovsky films it exerts a gravitational attraction that makes you want to see it again...and again (unless you are one of the many who instantly hate it and vow to never see it again.) Over time it has become my favorite film (although many others vie for the top spot). I make it a point to watch it once a year - usually on a double bill with the Wizard of Oz. Stalker is based on the Strugatsky brothers' novel Roadside Picnic. Science fiction, for Soviet writers, held a special attraction - it enabled them to explore dangerous or forbidden territory without invoking the wrath of the authorities (since it was not deemed to be a 'serious' or threatening genre). Roadside Picnic's satirical conceit is that an advanced alien intelligence visited the earth and quickly left without saying boo. They were presumably so advanced they were unaware of our existence, but the trash they left behind (like litter at a roadside picnic) was as unfathomable to humanity as a transistor radio to ants scurrying around the remains of the picnic. Tarkovsky stipped away the SF trappings almost entirely. There are no gimmicks or special effects in Stalker. Instead there is a mysterious Zone left behind by the alien visitation. Within the Zone ordinary laws of physics do not apply. Getting from poinat A to point B does not mean walking in a straight line: mysterious and circuitous 'routes' must be followed and time and space consist of invisible mazes that can mean instant death at a wrong turn. Tarkovsky milks this for a certain humorous effect. Travellers toss metal nuts ahead of their path to trigger hidden traps - this becomes a running joke throughout the film. Stalker is set in an anonymous European city. The stunning sepia-tinged images of a decaying industrial wasteland are striking and oft-imitated (Resident Evil, etc.). There are three main characters: Stalker, Writer, and Professor. Stalker is guide of sorts. He makes a living by guiding adventure-seekers through the dangers of the Zone, an illegal and dangerous way of life. His two clients are Writer and Professor (no names, please - we are in the Zone!). Writer is a hilarious satire on the late Soviet intellectual. Garrulous, witty, and cynical with a bottle of vodka in his pocket and a pretty girl at his side. Writer is having an existential crisis - he no longer believes in himself or the value of his talent. Visiting the Zone is his way of confronting his fear. Professor is a physicist of few words, but a dark secret. He fears the Zone, and has a plan to destoy it. A warning: Stalker is at heart a spiritual journey, not an adventure film. The floating camera motion and long slow takes center the viewer in a kind of dream narrative, and require a type of Zen patience and commitment on the part of the viewer. Here are the links to view the film. It is in two parts. Set the subtitles at the bottom right to "English." Stalker Film 1 Stalker Film 2
