Stalker

Russian willy wonka for adults - would you take the golden ticket? My best way to interpret this enigma of a film: It’s an allegorical representation of the human consciousness and by that extension, our own self identity. Reading the whole film as a metaphor, were transported to this verdant, post apocalyptic wasteland of ruins - dilapidated buildings, hollowed out tanks, and wood, seemingly enchanted forests. This to me is Tarkvoskys representation of our mind, consciousness and identity in this figurative stream of consciousness, void termed the “zone”. The soundscape harkens back to eraserhead (1977) with the void like vacuum white noise that is omnipresent - its what i imagine my inner mind to sound like when i close my eyes and zone out. Futuristic train horns in the distant are like a rude awakening, a grounding of ourselves back to reality. Iron clangs that sound like it’s come from a cyberpunk blacksmith make us believe the sci-fi world we see our protagonist in. The sound is hypnotic, trance-like and lulling - bringing you into a state of mediative reflectiveness as Tarkovsky brings a fourth guest to this odyssey - you the movie viewer as he beckons you to embark on your own spiritual journey inward. The most iconic scene that stalker is known for is the bumpy sand dune room. After reflecting on this scene, what immediately struck me is how this mimics the undulating folds and crevasses of the brain. While verdant and lush, there is decay and rot. Time stands here in this lynchian, dream like limbo. This to me is the best representation of our brain, our innerselves and our soul. The three archetypes: the stalker, professor and writer represent 3 parts of a whole. And throughout this entire spiritual odyssey, these three facets of our identity are always in contention and diametrically opposed to one and another. While these three in essence represent your self-identity as they traverse this landscape of inner consciousnes, Tarkovsky shows us that at our core, we are never truly happy unless all three of these parts are in harmony. The terrifying truth about who we truly are is the deep desire that many of us - as Tarkovsky points out and invites us to search for by viewing this movie as he presents the question to you as the fourth person on the journey: what do you truly want in life? And would that answer betray who you are, have been past, present and future all your life? This leads into my other point. While the professor and the writer have clear indications as to why they are called “professor” or “writer” - one who is rational and analytical, the latter creative and artistic, we never get a clear reason as to why the stalker is called “stalker”. What does he “stalk” here? He always trails behind the professor and writer. Perhaps Tarkvosky is telling us here that faith trails behind logic/reason and artistry/creativity, but its the facet that reveals what we truly want deep down. I cannot lie here when i say upon finishing the film, i sat there speechless pondeeing what i had just watched. Did i really just watch 3 men walk and yap in the woods for 3 hours? But upon giving this film space to breathe, it really hit me how dense and heavy this piece is an hour or two after. It will sit with you. Make you think and ponder. And in a world as fast paced as ours today, what a beautiful way to enter this meditative zone with Tarkovsky and ask yourself one of the truly most haunting questions ever: who really are you? despite this, i still feel like this film was too abstract for me to genuinely appreciate. I rewatched it and still, the dialogue is extremely dense, the shots lingering for minutes on end. I appreciate the soundtrack and atmosphere and the philosophical undertones, but this isn’t a movie i can rewatch days on end. I dont think i can call it truly a masterpiece yet. I get it. At its core, the film presents the terrifying question about what if your deepest desire, the thing that drives your motivations, goals and fulfillment betrays who you really are or how you perceive yourself? Are we just lying to ourselves so that others on the outside can perceive us a certain way?