Stalker (1979) is a science fantasy film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. After watching it for the first time, I am reminded of how I felt after I finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The film was long and boring, yet contemplative and interesting.

It has a lot of long beautiful shots, which leaves a lot of room to the viewer to imagine what is happening, what will happen, and what it all could mean. However, the story is so open that the film resists having any kind of canonical interpretation.

The Stalker is bringing the Professor and Writer along on a journey, selling them both on the dream of arriving at a room where their deepest desires are granted. However, upon reaching the precipice of the room, both the Professor and Writer decide not to enter for various reasons. It’s not clear if the Professor and Writer still believe in what the Stalker is claiming or if they do believe what he is claiming but no longer wish to have it. Not even their original intentions for going on the journey seem clear anymore, as the Professor had apparently premeditated a plan to blow up the room with a bomb — though they also decide to not go through with it and disassembles the bomb.

The strongest thematic element in the story seems to be one of hope, which the Stalker hopelessly embodies. The hope that he so strongly believes in is the only thing he feels he truly has. He is crushed when the Professor and Writer ultimately decide to not enter the room.

There were a few parts in the film which I found a little hard to understand. There were sections of prose that didn’t make any sense to me; I wasn’t sure why they were included in the movie. The progression of the journey is so gritty, wet, and vibrant that it does make me feel inspired to create such lush and vibrant scenes for the hiking game I want to make.