Stalker

After watching Amadeus, I've had a slight hunch that I should watch Stalker next. I've always seen it on the internet as a sci-fi, and after seeing the picture of the movie here in letterboxd, I've started to think about how the movie will look like. It didn't looked like the way I was fantasizing about it, that's for sure but everything related to the Zone was amazing. I really liked how everything screamed the "post-apocalyptic" and "dilapidated" building style. On top of that the worldbuilding was really good, only centering around the Zone, and the way Stalker was talking about it, it made the environment mystical - the tall grass; how that heap of sticks was covered with cobweb; the short and crowded sand dunes in the meat mincer; etc (AND after showing them in a close-up, there was only one "wide-shot" and due to that I felt unconvenient because I'd have like to seen more of them.(Unfortunately I've watched the movie in 720p on a phone, so most of the time I couldn't make anything out of the scenes regarding the background) Considering the filming style, it was unique (I fell asleep a couple times, but that didn't stop me from finishing it without prejudicing it as a boring movie) and I'm eager to watch the other works of Andrei Tarkovsky. From now on I'll only speak about the movie's message and how it reflected in me. Before I start explaining the message meaning for me, I'd like to flatten out our 3 main characters. The Stalker - in the beginning he seemed quiet and anxious around the other 2 main characters, but as soon as he entered the Zone, his latter dialogue with his wife came to action. He stated that only inside the Zone he's "himself" (In the Zone he was more talkative for instance). He never entered the Room due to his fear of ending up the same way as Porcupine. This means that he has ulterior motives even though he's convincing himself otherwise (after the argument with The Writer, he said that he'd like to help other utterlessly broken individuals like himself. Because in the Zone they can have hope and faith - to cling onto something). He even cried during his "confession", meaning that he'd helpless and wouldn't dare to enter the room because he can't face the truth. He somewhat knows that all of his doing is a "facadeous" act. The Writer - All of the time, he was the one to speak about the behavior of other individuals, and how the Zone reflected in that. He is highly self-aware and aware of other people's thinking too.(Andrei Tarkovsky used his character to plant "the bug" inside the viewers to think about psychological meanings too behind the movie, in other words he started to flatten out the sand in the sandbox for us viewers). In the beginning he was the first to explain his "because" of embarking on the journey through the Zone. He was out of inspiration (matter of fact, writers block). In the middle, he said that his "because" was a lie, but I think at first he was saying the truth. He stated that he didn't know either what he wants or wants not meaning that he didn't know whether his "because" is for inspiration or not. In front of the room he neglected to go inside due to his fear of facing the truth(the truth even he cannot face). One could argue that most of the time he was honest and harsh for example with the Zone and the Stalker too (and as of regarding everything, he had a raw opinion of life too). But everything of this was a way to cope with the things that is offensive for him. At the beginning the stalker throw a pole at him, and after that he was way more harsh and raw with him. Sometimes later he said that he's really sensitive, and that is the tool he uses for writing. Matter of fact, his wish isn't to became genius because that would mean the lack of skill to write. I think his most heartfelt and honest wish would have been to be mentally unvulnerable. The professor - he had the least character lore, but most of the he was sceptic. In the beginning he said he would like to acquire a nobel prize through studying the Zone, but in the middle his real "because" was revealed, not by him but through his ex-colleague(I simply don't know whether he was it or not). His wife cheated on him with his ex-colleague and because of this he stole their discarded bomb. That said bomb would have been planted inside the Room to destroy it as an act of justice. After all he couldn't face the truth too, so I think that his most heartfelt and honest wish would've been something with his wife or former colleague. The movie's message was a caution from the director to be more self-aware and never make disillusionary facades. Sometimes the truth is so frustating and unbearable that one couldn't even write it down on a paper. As a result an individual could built around it a "fortress" just as The Writer did. This analysis was one sided because there's much more that should be included in an analysis. Great movie