Stalker (1979)

Stalker (1979) is a science fantasy film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.

It was his second attempt at science fiction after Solaris (1972), but its production was troubled and chaotic. In particular, the shooting of the film seemed to never end as the first shoot broke down after three months, the cameraman was replaced twice, and when the film was damaged it had to be entirely reshot. The people working on the film also endured toxic, inhospitable conditions on set for months on end as a result of industrial waste, which likely led to many of them, including the director himself, meeting an early demise (20240529050749).

The film is gritty, wet, and vibrant. 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. It reminds me of The Road by Cormac McCarthy (20240527061339).